From Darkness Into Light (Nothing WholeNothing Broken Remake)
by TheKeybladeForger
Summary: When I opened my eyes and saw my very first glimpse of the world, it almost seemed as empty as I felt. Because all of my memories from before that moment were completely gone. I was lost, until I felt the warmth of a light I once knew and met Yuri. But he doesn't know me, even though I know we've met before. But is this feeling real? Or is there someone trying to rewrite my heart?
1. From Beneath A Starless Sky

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything from Kyo Kara Maoh or Kingdom Hearts; this is purely fan-made.

**Note:** Finally! I have a new laptop and at least some of my old data back so to celebrate here's the beginning of my remake of "Nothing Whole;Nothing Broken." Because looking back on it the start was promising but once I started merging it with parts of another story out of laziness it felt really off to me. Therefore I'm revising it. The beginning is going to stay pretty much the same but with a few tweaks to the plot and my OC's interaction with Yuri and the gang. I hope you guys like it!

~Chapter 1: From Beneath A Starless Sky~

_(Hold by Superchick)_

_Tell me that it's gonna to be okay_

_Tell me that you'll help me find my way_

_Tell me you can see the light of dawn is breaking_

_Tell me that it's going to be alright_

_Tell me that you'll help me fight this fight_

_Tell me that you'll won't leave me alone in this_

_Cause I need I need a hand to hold_

_To hold me from the edge the edge I'm sliding over slow_

_Cause I need I need your hand to hold_

_To hold me from the edge the edge I'm sliding past_

_Hold on to me_

_Tell me I can make it through this day_

_I don't even have the words to pray_

_You have been the only one who never left me_

_Help me find the way through all my fears _

_Help me see the light through all my tears_

_Help me see that I am not alone in this_

_Cause I need I need a hand to hold_

_To hold me from the edge the edge I'm sliding over slow_

_Cause I need I need your hand to hold_

_To hold me from the edge the edge I'm sliding past_

_Hold on to me_

_Cause I need I need a hand to hold_

_To hold me from the edge the edge I'm sliding over slow_

_Cause I need I need your hand to hold_

_To hold me from the edge the edge I'm sliding past_

_Hold on to me_

* * *

_There were only two things I was absolutely sure of: One, this was definitely not the world I came from. And secondly, I was in big trouble... _

_No sooner had I taken my first step into the sunlight that I was suddenly being attacked by a strange black creature-a Heartless-that appeared to be born of the very darkness itself as it formed right in front of me. And somehow I knew it was me that it was after. Whatever this creature was, it was clear that it desperately wanted to destroy my heart, and with it, all that was left of the person I used to be once before._

_Although, I realized later on that day why it came after me exclusively. The Heartless were deathly afraid of the weapon in my hands. A special key-like weapon that exists as one with my heart and has the power to unlock all the secrets of the world; the Keyblade. _

_The Keyblade is all I have left from my old life, or maybe it's all I ever had to begin with. I honestly don't know. I can't...really remember much of anything about it except that I have always had it with me. And now I am here in this strange new world with only this Keyblade in my hand and a desire to know what destiny has in store for me. Whether it is to seek out the truth about why I was brought here or if it is my role to protect this land and start a new life here for myself. Especially now that everything else that once made me '_me'_ has already faded away and nothing is left but this small glimmer of light inside of my heart that I must protect at all costs._

* * *

When I opened my eyes and saw my very first glimpse of the world, it almost seemed as empty as I felt. There was nothing but trees everywhere I looked for what seemed like miles. So in the end I simply chose a direction and started to walk deeper into the forest, not really knowing where I was going or where I wanted to end up...

Because all of my memories from before that moment were completely gone.

But, at least I had enough self awareness that I was able to form some inkling of thought and decided to see if I could find other people somewhere nearby who could help me. So as I continued walking, I started to question myself to occupy my time. The usual things one would ask themselves in my situation like: _Who am I? What's my name? Where did I come from? Where am I? What should I do now...? _

Unfortunately though, even though I asked myself all of these things, nothing new came to mind. Because there was nothing left for me to remember anymore, nothing at all. So no answers came. There wasn't even the memory of feeling anything that could explain my amnesia, like a pain I wanted to forget or a spell being cast over my heart to lock all of my memories and feelings away. I was just empty inside.

Before long, the trees began to thin and I could sense the presence of other people just a little further up ahead. I wasn't really sure how, but I could sense their presence even from afar and among them I sensed there was...something else. There was someone in their midst that felt so familiar to me, someone who knew me.

As if drawn to that person, I unconsciously quickened my pace almost to the point of running full tilt. And then once I came to the very edge of the clearing the very first thing I saw were two boys walking across a large grassy field to an army stationed on the other side who looked like they were eagerly awaiting their arrival. Though not in a welcoming way...

One of the boys was dressed in a long white robe with long golden hair and shades tinted the color of pale lavender. And the other boy, the moment I saw him I was sure it was definitely _his_ presence that had called out to me. _He_ was the one who felt familiar, and seeing him made me feel strangely warm inside and my heart began to ache at the sight of him. Almost like how you would feel after seeing a close friend that you haven't seen in years and suddenly having all of those fond memories and feelings come flooding back to you all at once, feeling all the more lonely because of it and yet...also strangely relieved.

I was unsure what it was about him that seemed so riveting at first. And I wondered if it was because of this odd feeling I felt in my chest or just because he looked so much like me. No, it was definitely something much deeper than that. I could feel it. There was something buried inside of him in the far reaches of his heart. I just couldn't fully understand what it was just yet; only that it was the light of someone important to me. That much I knew for certain in my heart even if I knew nothing else about him.

That's when I knew that I had to reach him before he got to the other side, and I was just about to finally step out of the shadows when I saw the other boy jump in front of his friend and shout in alarm- "Yuri, look out!"

The next thing I knew, my whole body instinctively tensed like a coiled spring and I thought: _I have to get over there. _And no sooner had the thought crossed my mind that I felt this strange rush come over me-as if my body was now as light as air-and I warped right in front of them and instinctively summoned some kind of key-shaped weapon to deflect the attack.

The arrow came rushing straight at me with a low hiss but with a swift uppercut, I cut the arrow clean in two and it fell to the ground with a silent clatter; now only as harmless as the wood it was made of. Lowering my weapon, I stared down at its remains and wondered aloud, "What is this? How did I...?"

_Keyblade..._

"Huh?" I blinked, slowly turning around to find the source of the voice before realizing it was only in my head. I waited for a moment to see if I would hear it again, but the voice didn't say anything else so I returned my attention back to the two boys and asked them calmly, "Are...you two alright...?"

Before either of them could answer me, the ground started to shake and the sky abruptly darkened above us. It was almost as if the sun had fallen right out of the sky and its absence plunged the three of us into total darkness. However, it immediately became clear that this wasn't the case when we all finally looked up. For what had actually blotted out the sun was a creature even blacker than a shadow which had suddenly come into being right in front of where we were standing towered high above us.

It was a giant pitch black monster-so black in fact that it was as it were made up entirely of crystallized darkness from the deepest abyss-with a huge heart-shaped crevasse cut out of its stomach that we could see all the way through to the other side. Its arms were corded with very powerful-looking muscles, long clawed fingers, and there was a pair of shriveled black wings protruding from its broad shoulders. The only part of its entire body that _wasn't_ pitch black were its glowing yellow eyes peering out from behind the tendrils of darkness obscuring most of its expressionless face.

And the moment I saw it, another word came to mind and I murmured it softly under my breath, "That's a...Heartless. But why...?"

"W-what's going on? Who is that? What the hell _is_ that thing?!" Ranjeel shouted fearfully as the Heartless rose up to its full height, probably thinking that it was the Demon King-or me-who had summoned it to kill them. "Shoot! Shoot! Shoot them! I no longer care! Kill both the Demon King and Saralegui!"

After that, a wave of arrows starting raining down in a vast torrent on both the creature and the three of us. But as they descended upon the Heartless-which I also recalled was called a Darkside-the arrows passed right through its skin and disintegrated upon impact before they could hit us. And in response to their attack, the Darkside lifted one of its massive arms and smashed one of their towers, opening a pool of darkness where its fist landed and summoned creatures similar to itself that attacked him and his men. While the rest turned around and came after us...

Or, more specifically, me.

"Go," I said calmly to Yuri and Saralegui after cutting down several of the smaller Heartless that had lunged at me-having heard their names from Ranjeel when he shouted them earlier. "I'll handle this."

As if finally coming to his senses again, Yuri asked me hastily, "Wait, who are-"

"Just go," I told him simply, looking back at all the Heartless tearing further into Ranjeel's army. But then, I found myself adding as more of an afterthought, "Besides, don't you…have someone you need to protect?"

"You mean Sara? Yeah-" Yuri nodded before looking at his friend with a confident smile, "-I guess you're right. After all, he just tried to protect me so I should do the same for him!" looking worried though, he started to ask, "But, what about-"

Narrowing his gaze ever so slightly, Saralegui cut him off and asked me the same thing Yuri was about to, "What about you? Will you be alright?"

Surprised, I glanced back at Saralegui from beneath my hood and admitted, "I...don't know for sure, but, this is something I have to do. This must be why I am here. It has to be, or else why was I drawn to this place by..."

Trailing off and looking down at the Keyblade again, gripping it tighter, I slowly rose it up to eye level and without so much as another word to either of them, I charged forward without looking back. Driven only by instinct and a desire to protect them even though they were complete strangers to me.

Because at that moment, I felt that fighting my way forward-and into the light of a new day-was the only way that the emptiness in my heart would start to fill again. After all, I had no memories, no name, and no real reason to fight. I had nothing left to feel in my heart but this faint sense of nostalgia towards Yuri that may or may not have been real. Most likely, it just me needing to have some sense of purpose.

In the end I probably only decided to fight for no other reason than to understand why holding the Keyblade felt so natural to me; as if it was the only part of me that still remembered what I was really fighting for. Someone like Yuri, who was full of a light that made even someone as broken as me want to do everything in my power not to lose it. Because what else could there be to fill my empty heart but the light of someone whose heart felt like it was once so close to mine and could help _me_ find _'the light within the darkness?'_

* * *

"Your Majesty! We must retreat!" Janis advised Ranjeel after slaying several more Heartless with his esoteric powers.

"But the Demon King is right before me...!" Ranjeel rebuked, too stubborn to retreat now even while all this was happening around him and his men were falling left and right.

"The longer we stay here the more damage will be inflicted on us!" Janis reasoned a bit more calmly. "Hurry! Take His Majesty to safety!" he ordered the nearest soldiers before glancing back at me as I easily cut my way through the hoards of Heartless and made my way towards the Darkside.

He knew right away that I wasn't one of his subordinates, mainly because the design of my clothing was absolutely nothing like the uniform of the White Crows. What's more, I didn't bear their emblem or anything else that marked me as one of theirs. Only a black coat with a zipper all the way up the front and a hood covering my entire face.

Aside from that, what intrigued him the most about me was my Keyblade; a weapon shaped in the likeness of a giant key with a guard and a key-chain hanging from the hilt. Janis could sense its incredible power as soon as I had summoned it. He also watched as their own forces continued their seemingly futile battle against the Heartless. Their arrows were having almost no effect on them, and even their swords hardly dealt any damage to the Heartless, let alone the Darkside itself. In fact, not too long after its first attack, the Darkside used some sort of dark magic to create a storm that rained down large spheres of darkness that honed in on them and hurt whomever they touched.

And it was only once I finally reached the Darkside again that Janis really got a better look at me and could see my skill firsthand for himself. Of course, my face was still hidden beneath the hood of my coat, but there was no doubt that I was naturally skilled with the Keyblade. With only a few strokes of my Keyblade, the Heartless vanished. And unlike when one of them slew a Heartless, a new one did not appear to replace it. That's when he came to understand that my weapon and these creatures were somehow connected. Or at the very least, I had the power to defeat them. And if I had _that_ kind of power, Janis thought that surely I could help to revive the Divine Sword for him and his true master, the leader of the White Crows.

So it was decided that from that point on Janis would do his best to figure out who I really was so that he and the White Crows could use my unique powers for their own ends. Not that I knew that Janis had been watching me the whole time since I was so focused on the task at hand. Even so, the truth was that Janis wasn't the only one after me, I just didn't remember who those people were yet...

And I wouldn't remember anything until I recovered everything that I had lost. But until then I would continue to yearn for the familiarity of those who knew me and could fill in the gaps in my memories. And since I had found that in Yuri, I told myself that I would keep on fighting for him. Not knowing then that I would be staying alongside someone who was also a _'Key'.._.

* * *

"You guys!" Yuri shouted once he and Sara made it safely back to the other side of the field to meet up with his friends. "I'm so glad you're all ok."

"What the hell just happened out there Yuri?!" Wolfram asked sharply, taking his shoulders and looking him over worriedly, "Are you hurt anywhere?"

Yuri shook his head and gesturing at Sara as he explained, "No, I'm fine Wolfram, Sara saved me from getting shot by jumping in front of me just in time. Well-" then, looking back over to where I was still fighting off Heartless he admitted, "-sort of. I mean he _tried_ to anyway but then that girl came out of nowhere and..."

"Girl?" Conrad asked, following his gaze, "You mean that person in the black hood?"

Yuri nodded, "Yeah. She literally appeared out of nowhere and cut the arrow right in half. It was so cool! And get this: she summoned her weapon out of thin air too. You know, that thing that's shaped like a giant key or something that she's carrying?"

"What about that creature?" Gunter asked in a deeply troubled tone of voice, "Where did it come from?"

"No clue," Yuri replied, turning back to face them. "But she said she could handle it and told me to protect Sara so we both hurried to get back over here before more of those monsters showed up. But I'm really worried about her you guys. Something seemed...I dunno, kinda off about her. Like when she first started talking to us it was like she was confused and didn't know where she was."

"Well either way, we have to get out of here before that thing decides to attack us next. After all from the looks of things Big Shimaron isn't doing that well either so I doubt we'll be able to do much better against those monsters," Murata advised grimly, "We've been given a chance to escape while both Ranjeel and those creatures are distracted so we had better take advantage of that while we still can."

Sara nodded and said, "I agree. However, it was only because of her that we were given this chance so perhaps we should wait a little longer to see if we can help her escape with us like Yuri is suggesting."

Wolfram however, shook his head and argued, "We may not get another chance though! I say we do as she said and just go before-"

"Wait a moment, Wolfram. Look-" Conrad said in astonishment, pointing towards Ranjeel's army, "-it appears that they're retreating."

When they all turned to look they saw that Conrad was right, Big Shimaron's whole army really were retreating. Although, from their point of view, it must have looked like they were running away like dogs with their tail between their legs as they stumbled over each other to get away as fast as they possibly could. Because not too long after Ranjeel was taken to safety, his men soon realized how hopeless it was to keep on fighting the Heartless and followed after him almost immediately. Leaving only myself and the Darkside fighting in the heavy rain that had started to fall down on us...

During our battle, I carefully studied its movements while looking for an opening and attacked the Darkside wherever I could reach, which was mainly its arms and legs. Of course, the Darkside still summoned other Heartless occasionally but those were easy enough to cut down. And before long I noticed that the Darkside was growing more desperate to stop me and threw everything it had left at me, but still I continued to fight regardless of that.

Thankfully I wasn't cold from the rain thanks to my thick leather coat but I could steadily feel my arms and the Keyblade growing heavier by the minute and knew that I needed to end this fight quickly. So after circling the Darkside one more time and waiting for it to throw its fist into the ground again-which would go down all the way up to its shoulder to reach into the darkness-I ran towards it at full speed and lept high into the air with my Keyblade and went straight for its head for the final blow. As I did this however, the Darkside suddenly looked up at me just long enough to pull its arm back out again to try and land an attack of its own before I could destroy it for good.

My eyes widened as I realized that it was doing this but it was too late for me to pull back now, I had to finish my attack. I'm not sure how I did it but after drawing upon my last bit of strength I felt the impact of my Keyblade against the Darkside just as its fist made contact with me at the same time and somehow I was able to force my way through it and clove the Heartless completely in half. Just like the arrow from earlier.

Then, there was a bright flash of light coming from its chest for a moment and then everything seemed to slow down for me as I landed on the other side of it. But before long everything started resuming normal speed again once my feet safely hit the wet grass and it was gone.

After that, everything went quiet except for the soft patter of thick and heavy rain streaking down my coat and dripping onto the damp grass at my feet. And then, I looked up at the sky, feeling content with myself for the moment before soundlessly crumpling to the ground after using up all of my strength.

And as I drifted off into a deep sleep, smelling nothing but the sweet scent of rain and hearing the soft rustle of the grass as Yuri and his friends rushed over to me, I knew that even though this world wasn't where I came from, it was the place I needed to be. I was needed here. So as long as I kept going on this path everything else would surely start to fall back into place...now that I had something to fight for.


	2. Forgotten But Not Lost

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything from Kyo Kara Maoh or Kingdom Hearts; this is purely fan-made.

~Chapter 2: Forgotten But Not Lost~

_Night had long since fallen by the time we finally reached Saralegui's castle; their hour, when the Heartless slip into the shadows more easily and sneak up on their unsuspecting prey. However, since my Keyblade was now sheathed inside of my heart and its light safely hidden away from their sight, we were relatively safe from any more surprise attacks. At least for the moment, though they would definitely come after me again before long._

_But, several hours before I woke up in his castle after I collapsed, they learned something about me that changed everything. And finding out about it only made it that much more important for them to get me back to safety before Ranjeel sent someone to demand answers about everything that happened up until that point, including Yuri's involvement with Small Shimaron from before I came into this world. _

_Of course it was obvious that Big Shimaron was most likely going to blame Yuri for the Darkside's appearance too but that was actually the last thing on everyone's mind right now. It was me, and what they discovered after taking off my hood to find out who I was..._

_And what they saw was that my hair-like Yuri's-was pitch black._

* * *

With the clear rain streaking down my cheeks like the slow gentle fall of tears, they saw my face for the very first time; a face that I no longer remembered as my own. It was pale-which really wasn't that surprising given how much I overexerted myself-almost like polished ivory and it only made my hair seem a much darker a shade of black that clung to my face as the rain continued to steadily fall down on all of us, falling freely over my eyes.

I must have only been as old as Yuri or Saralegui, about sixteen or seventeen in human years, that much was easy enough for them to tell. As for the rest, they would just have to ask me when I regained consciousness. Although, they weren't likely to find out much of anything once they knew about my amnesia. Everything I once knew about who I was was completely gone. And thinking back on it now it makes me wonder; how was I able to wield a Keyblade at all if my heart-the very core of my entire being-was on the verge of falling apart completely?

"H-her hair...its-" Gunter gaped, feeling himself start to blush despite himself at the sight of it, "-it's black! Just like His Majesty's!"

"But who is she? Where did she come from?" Yosak asked, crossing his arms.

Carefully picking me up so he wouldn't accidentally jostle me awake, Conrad turned back to everyone and replied, "We'll worry about that later Yosak. For now, I say we follow Ranjeel's example and get out of here. "

"Right," Yosak nodded and all of them started to head back to the carriages, caught up in their own thoughts about this whole thing.

And with that, our first journey together began.

* * *

Inside of the second carriage that Murata and others were in-including Yuri now to make sure he wasn't targeted again-they watched my condition very closely as we made our way to the safety of Saralegui's castle. Although at this point they were still unsure of whether or not-even after everything I did to keep them all safe-that I was someone who could be trusted.

To my credit though, they'd seen how good I was at dealing with the Heartless, so at the very least they were sure that I wasn't the one who summoned them in the first place. And besides, they were all very curious to know who trained me to fight so well with such a peculiar weapon. Sure, they had seen their share of people who used specialized weapons rather than a normal sword, but never a magical weapon like mine that was fashioned into the shape of a key that could be summoned and dismissed at will.

Not to mention everyone was-even now-still in shock about the devastating power they had witnessed from the Darkside I took down and they wanted some answers. They kept trying to make sense of what happened or where it came from in the first place, but nothing about its sudden appearance made any sense. It was almost as powerful as the monsters the Originators once summoned and that troubled them all greatly...

The only thing that they knew for certain was that _someone _had tried to assassinate Yuri, and it was clear at this point that Ranjeel had been telling the truth that time about not being the person who ordered it. And then, only moments later, the Heartless appeared and instead of attacking Yuri or Saralegui directly as well, they went after Ranjeel and they wondered how the two events were related to each other. Although, the actual reason why the Darkside attacked them might have just been because it was _his_ men who provoked it...

Of course, it was entirely possible that _I_ was the one behind it all-including the arrow aimed at Yuri to gain their trust-but Murata said that he seriously doubted it. Especially after hearing Saralegui's side of the story about what I said to them and Yuri pretty much confirmed this when he told them the same thing, about how I seemed lost and confused but fought to protect them anyway.

Instead of worrying about the finer details of this whole situation, Yuri and the others decided that first of all they had to make sure no one else found out about the fact that my hair was black; especially in the middle of everything else going on between themselves and Big Shimaron. Because up until that point, the only other people with black hair that existed in their world as far as they knew were Yuri himself, his best friend Murata, and of course his older brother Shori who was still back on Earth.

And all of them of course were known as members of the Demon Tribe so seeing anyone else with that coloring would automatically make others assume I was too. They would also assume that I was with them all along, which I wasn't. I had no idea where I came from or how I got to this place. I only had this vague idea of being trapped all alone in the darkness for a very long time, maybe even years.

But beyond that, their guess was as good as mine...

* * *

A few hours later, I woke up alone in an unfamiliar room. Then again, _everything _was unfamiliar to me at this point so even if I had been there before, I wouldn't know.

I turned my head to the side and saw that the walls around me were a subdued shade of red with golden tracery lining the upper and lower portions that were decorated with a wide arrange of portraits and paintings. And above me, there was a golden chandelier hanging in the center of the ceiling. Still, none of it was familiar to me and for some reason I felt...cold there, like there was a lingering chill in the air or a sense that these halls had never seen much love, only loneliness in the silence.

It took me a moment to remember what happened to me, and after I did I got up and wandered over to the door. I tried the handle, but it was locked. And since I had no way of knowing which side had taken me, I thought that it would probably be best if I escaped that room and tried to find those two boys again. So instinctively, I called upon my Keyblade and was about to use it to unlock the door when I sensed Yuri's presence approaching and I stopped with a sigh of relief, feeling very puzzled by my own reaction.

_There it is again, this is the same feeling I had about him before._ I thought to myself, dismissing my Keyblade again and stepping away from the door. _So _they're_ the ones who took me. But, why did they lock the door? Didn't I make it clear that I'm not their enemy? Or do they suspect that I summoned the Heartless to this world?_

I was still wondering what I should do next when a brown haired man-whose name I learned a bit later was Conrad Weller-opened the door for Yuri, Saralegui, and the others. And they were surprised when they saw me standing there in the middle of the room with my arms folded apparently very deep in thought.

Closing the door behind them, Conrad smiled at me and said, "Ah good, you're awake. We were worried about you. Are you feeling any better now?"

Slowly opening my eyes, I lowered my arms and replied softly, "I don't know..."

Then, as I looked up to face him directly I saw their eyes widen the moment they saw the color of my eyes and an awed gasp swept over the entire group. Even Saralegui seemed surprised and his eyes widened too.

Confused by their odd reaction, I walked over to the window I saw earlier to see what all the fuss was about. Not to mention to see what I looked like for myself too.

Both of my eyes were almond shaped and a deep shade of black but what was strange was that they didn't match in shade. My left eye was lighter than the other and it had a strange metallic sheen to it. It was almost like I was blind in that eye but I could see through it just fine. My hair was black too and my bangs were cut to frame my face with short, layered spikes while the rest of it flowed freely down my shoulders in long wavy currents.

As for my face, it was smooth and my skin was very fair. I was pretty I guess but there wasn't really anything very striking about my looks, I looked completely normal. And to be honest I wasn't sure whether to be relieved about that or to feel disappointed about not having some kind of marking or maybe a scar to explain why I didn't recognize this face at all. But, maybe it was the mismatched color of my eyes that had something to do with my memory loss. I wasn't sure.

_So, this is what I look like, _I thought to myself, reaching up to touch my cheek in wonder when-

"Hey uh-" Yuri began nervously, "-are you ok?"

I nodded and after dropping my hand limply to my side I continued to look at my reflection as I asked them unsurely, "What...happened to me?"

"You collapsed right after defeating that terrible creature," Saralegui explained, smiling softly as he walked up beside me and touched my shoulder. "You were very brave to face something like that by yourself just to save us, so thank you for that. We are both in your debt."

"You're...that boy from before. The one that man called _'Saralegui...'_" I recalled, turning to face him as I asked, "You weren't attacked by the Heartless again after I passed out, were you...?"

"Heartless? You mean those black things?" Yuri blinked.

"Yes," I answered with a slight nod, resting a hand under my chin as I remembered, "That's right, now I remember. As soon as I came out of the forest I saw the two of you approaching the army on the other end of that field. After that, the Heartless appeared and I defeated the one controlling them but after that...I fell into darkness. Such a deep...darkness..."

Suddenly feeling a chill wash over me, I suppressed a shutter as the memory of the terrible dream I had just before I woke up floated back to the surface of my mind. Because I wasn't sure if what I saw were just figments of a dream, or if they were the shards of my true memories trying to come back to me.

In my dream, I remembered running with all my might while trying to find my best friend as the beautiful land I once called my home was torn asunder all around me. Chunks of it were being ripped out of the earth and dragged into a giant sphere of darkness until almost nothing was left of the world but a small sliver of land. Then there was the memory of a familiar hand reaching out to grab mine and the feeling of our fingers slipping apart as the darkness pulled me in. And I remembered wandering all alone through the darkness, my face streaked with tears as I searched for a way out but found only nothingness...

"Excuse me, but aren't you all forgetting something important?" Conrad pointed out, gesturing in my general direction while I was lost in my thoughts again. "We still don't even know her name yet. Don't you think that it's a little rude not to ask?"

Scratching the back of his head, Yuri laughed nervously, "Yeah, you're right Conrad. Sorry about that," he said, bowing his head apologetically.

"Well then let's do this properly," the man with the long silver hair agreed and spoke to me with a strange amount of reverence as he said, "My name is Gunter Von Christ, I am King Yuri's mentor and I cannot begin to thank you enough for saving his life. And this-" gesturing at the other black haired boy he said, "-is our esteemed Great Wiseman, Ken Murata who is also His Majesty's best friend. Next to him is Wolfram Von Bielefeld, the younger brother of Conrad Weller, one of the strongest swordsmen in the entire Great Demon Kingdom. Then we have Yosak Gurier, who is once of Conrad's closest comrades. And finally we have King Yuri himself and King Saralegui, whose castle we are staying in right now."

Looking at each of them in turn, I said the names back to him, "So your names are Gunter Von Christ, Ken Murata, Wolfram Von Bielefeld, Conrad Weller, Yosak Gurier, King Yuri, and King Saralegui?"

Gunter nodded, "Yes, that's right. Now if you would be so kind, can you tell us your name?"

Deciding that there was really no point in hiding it from them I averted my gaze and admitted, "I'm sorry but actually I...don't remember my name."

"Hmph, do you really expect us to believe that?" Wolfram snickered rather rudely which made me round on him and narrow my gaze.

"Believe me or don't, that's your choice. It won't change the truth..." I told him, glancing away from him and clenching my fists. "I can't remember anything from before I came here and yet somehow I know in my heart that this-" looking straight up at them with a certainty that I hoped left no doubt I their mind that I was telling the truth, I said, "-this...isn't the world I came from. When I first opened my eyes, nothing I saw seemed familiar and even the animals I saw looked so strange. Then after hours of aimlessly wandering in the forest, not knowing where I should go, who I was, or what I should do, I suddenly felt a presence shining like a beckon to me and followed it to that field. That's when I saw him-" I pointed at Yuri, "-and I knew it was him who called out to me. Or at least...someone inside of him."

Walking over to Yuri, I placed my hand over his heart-ignoring Wolfram's protests and insults-and continued with a soft smile teasing my lips, "I think I understand now why I had to save you. I can sense a powerful light inside of you and something else hidden away deep inside of your heart that feels just like my Keyblade. So...does this mean that you also a _'Key Bearer_?'"


	3. A Name To The Nameless

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything from Kyo Kara Maoh or Kingdom Hearts; this is purely fan-made.

Chapter 3: A Name To The Nameless~

_Together with you we'll find out what truly makes up each of us._

_This heart, once broken, will be reborn..._

_And the Key, reforged._

_So let us bring together all the pieces_

_Of what once connected me to you._

* * *

"Well, this has certainly been an interesting development," Saralegui chuckled lightly as he thought back on what happened in the field _and_ in the bedroom just now. "Yet another Double Black has come into our world with a very rare kind of power to offer. I'm almost starting to wonder if they're all like that and _that's_ what originally gave rise to all the legends and myths about their kind."

"Your Highness," Berias commented, carefully glancing over at his King, "What do you intend to do now that your plan has failed?"

Saralegui looked up at him and raised an eyebrow, "Failed? Oh I wouldn't say that. If anything, my point still came across and I've become closer friends with Yuri, which was the whole idea. Besides," he smiled knowingly, "I'm sure that it's been a great relief to you that the arrow never actually hit its mark. You did a fine job and I am very pleased with what happened despite the unexpected outcome. Although I would have liked to see Yuri's power firsthand, at least that Heartless-a Darkside I believe it was called-deigned to do the job of laying waste to Ranjeel's army for me and that coward ran off with his tail between his legs."

Berias nodded and turned to face Saralegui full on as he asked, "Do you think she was telling the truth? That her memories only start from the moment she met you and King Yuri?"

Saralegui shrugged his shoulders slightly, "Who can say? But then again, from where I stood she seemed quite sincere. What I am _more_ interested in is that mysterious Keyblade of hers and what it can do. Although it's a shame that no one else can wield it since it apparently _'chooses its master' _according to though how a weapon can _choose_ anything but who cares?" With a sinister glint in his eyes, Saralegui smiled ever so slightly as he said, "Either way, she could prove quite useful..."

* * *

As we waited for Sara to return, I stood off to the side while Yuri and the others were busy discussing the current situation. But even from afar I could tell that they were still having a hard time deciding what to do with me next. After all, even without the Keyblade my appearance alone could potentially get them into even more trouble if they simply let me go. Plus, since I had amnesia it wouldn't take long before people got wind of my existence and tried to capture or possibly kill me.

Still, since I couldn't really wrap my head around most of what they were talking I figured I'd stay out of their way until they were done and decide for myself what I wanted to do. That's about when Conrad separated from the group and walked over to me. Apparently, he was getting worried because I was being so quiet as I continued to lean against the window frame, staring blankly outside into the night.

"Is everything alright?" Conrad asked, smiling warmly at me. "You've been rather quiet this whole time, is there something on your mind?"

I didn't answer him, because there was really nothing else for me to say. I told them everything I knew, and the few things I actually remembered. But at least now it seemed like they were starting to believe me when I told them I didn't know anything else about them or this world. So I didn't have any answers to give him even if I wanted to.

He waited patiently for my answer and then finally, I looked at Conrad and shrugged, "Well, you already told me that the _'Key'_ I sensed inside of Yuri isn't a Keyblade. And it's hard to accept that he isn't the person I thought he was. I had hoped that Yuri could give me some answers but he can't, so now I have nothing except for the Keyblade and a few sparse memories that make absolutely no sense. I'm completely alone in this world, where there is no one who knows me..."

"That's not true," Conrad told me seriously. "Even though you were mistaken about knowing Yuri you still have us and we will do whatever we can to help you regain your memories. Because regardless of the original reason behind your actions, you still saved His Majesty's life and just like King Saralegui said we are indebted to you for that."

I tilted my head in confusion and asked him, "Why?"

"Why what?" he blinked.

"Why do you care so much about what happens to me...? You don't even know me. _I_ don't even know me," I said, turning back to stare out the window. "I only met Yuri because I was chasing after someone I really believed I knew. Meeting him was the first thing that felt real to me since I lost everything and found myself here in this strange place. I mean, wouldn't you have done the same thing? If you had just lost all of your memories that made you the person you are, the first chance you get wouldn't you want to hold onto something that still felt familiar to you from your old life in hopes of getting them all back? To fill the emptiness you felt in your heart, even if it was all just a lie? Because no one can exist alone. If there is no one to remember or acknowledge you then it's like you don't exist, and your light could disappear forever. That's how important connections between people are; those bonds help to create the hearts inside of us and we grow through the people we meet by sharing both our pain and our joy with them because in the end we know that they need us too. But, I've lost those connections and as soon as I thought I found one it was taken away from me just like everything else and all I am left with is total darkness..."

Conrad was about to argue that I was wrong about not having anything left when I straightened up and announced to everyone that I needed some air and walked out of the room without so much as a second glance at him. However, although I hadn't noticed it, a single tear streaked down my face just as the door closed behind me. A tear to show how much my heart was aching, and how badly I wished my feelings for Yuri were real...

* * *

After I left them I found my way outside to the courtyard and knelt down in front of one of the flowerbeds, gently stroking the petals of one the various flowers now bathed in the cold steady glow of moonlight with the tips of my fingers. A light that even those who dwelt in darkness could claim as their own. And even though it was a borrowed light, its gentle glow was something that could prevent the night from consuming everything and keep the balance between light and darkness that shared the same sky; one sky that connected this world and countless others in the form of stars bathing the heavens. Each star the light of each world's heart shining down on each of us.

Turning around and sliding to the ground with a thud, I sighed deeply and hugged my knees, unaware that Sara was watching me the whole time. Recalling a bitter-sweet memory from his early childhood when he saw where I was sitting, because the flowerbed I was in front of was the place where he first met Berias. And Berias turned out to be the only person who ever truly cared for him and was finally able to take the edge off of his loneliness growing up. And for the first time since we met, Sara could truly see how lost I felt and he genuinely felt pity for me.

"Come on, let's go back inside. You'll catch a cold if you stay out here," Sara said softly to me, after he calmly strode over and offered me his hand.

Startled by the sound of his voice suddenly breaking the silence, I gasped and looked up at him as I felt the tears start falling down my cheeks again. Then with a self-depreciating laugh, I tried to stem the flow of tears as I admitted, "It doesn't matter anyway. No one will miss me once I disappear from this world. And I thought that...maybe if I stay out here long enough the Heartless will come and put an end to me so that I can return to the darkness where I belong. Because I...I know I don't belong here. I don't remember belonging...anywhere but inside of the darkness."

Smiling warmly, Sara withdrew his hand and offered, "Would you like to?"

"What?" I blinked, looking at him in astonishment.

"Would you like somewhere to belong? Because I can give that to you if that is what you want," Sara promised me, offering his hand to me once more and smiling. "I won't make you choose between staying here with me or going back to the Great Demon Kingdom with Yuri, but, I promise that I will be here for you if you ever need me. After all, since you risked your life to save me too we're friends now aren't we?"

"Friends..." I repeated softly, finding myself smiling at the sound of the word as I reached up to accept his hand and wiped away the last of my tears with my free hand. "Yes, you're right. Of course we're friends. And I don't really need memories in orderto protect the people who are important to me. Thank you, Sara," then looking up at the night sky once more, I smiled, "I was brought here for a reason and if I give up now then I'll never get anything back. I just need to continue to follow my heart, and it will lead me to the place I need to go. Right? "

* * *

Shortly after our little heart to heart chat, I returned to the castle with Sara and Berias and after they explained their plans to escape the country by ship, I told them my true feelings. About how even though I still felt unsure of myself, both Sara and Conrad helped me realize that it was ok to ask for their help because they were my friends and just because I didn't have a connection to Yuri didn't mean we couldn't create one by getting to know each other now.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me!" Yuri suddenly exclaimed, making me jump slightly, "We should give you a name!"

"Huh?" I blinked, gawking at Yuri like he was a crazy person, "What are you talking about? I already have a name."

Scratching the back of his head nervously, Yuri argued, "Well yeah but you still don't remember it right? And it'd just be weird to say _'hey you'_ all the time so why don't we give you a new name at least until you remember your real one?"

"Yuri! Don't be ridiculous!" Wolfram complained, "You can't just go around naming people like that!"

Yuri blinked, "Why not Wolfram? It's not like we know her real name yet either and since she can't remember it then what are we _supposed _to call her then?"

Wolfram flinched and reluctantly admitted, "Well, I guess you do have a point there."

"Then its settled!" Gunter said gleefully, clapping his hands together, "We shall pick out a fine name befitting her magnificence as the first new Double Black we've seen since first meeting His Highness and His Eminence. Oh, I still can't believe I have lived to be so lucky to have known so many of them in my lifetime alone!"

Confused, I looked to Conrad for an explanation and he just laughed, "Don't worry about him. Gunter is simply beside himself with joy about meeting yet another person who is also a Double Black, which basically means in our world that you ranked equal to or close to royalty because of the Great Wiseman who fought against the Originators four thousand years ago. And also because having black hair and eyes is such a rarity in our world to begin with."

"The Great Wiseman..." I repeated softly, suddenly remembering what they told me before about him and glancing at Murata in confusion, "Wait, if you're also called that does that mean that the title has been passed down to you because you're his descendent or something?"

Murata chuckled and adjusted his glasses as he replied, "You could say that. But anyway, weren't we choosing a new temporary name for her?"

Grinning mischievously, Yuri elbowed him and snickered, "Smooth move there, changing the subject like that."

Wolfram sighed and turned to Murata as he asked more bluntly, "Do we _really_ have time for this?"

"Not much, but it is kind of important to have something to call her if we're going to be together for a while," Murata nodded, "So how about it? Would you like us to pick out a name for you or do you already have an idea of what to call yourself?"

I shook my head and replied, "No, nothing really comes to mind."

"Right then!" Yuri grinned, "I already got a cool name picked out and I think you'll like it a lot. Ready?"

Not knowing what to expect, I nodded, "I guess so..."

Then, being adorably dramatic, Yuri took a deep breath before announcing the name-"Trinity."

"That's actually a very pretty name..." I smiled softly, turning to Sara beside me and asking, "What do you think of it Sara?"

In return, Sara smiled too and agreed, "As expected of Yuri, he picked out a wonderful name. And I presume that it is meant to represent the three of us correct?" he winked at Yuri, "After all, the first people she met in this world were you and me so the three of us together make a _'trinity.' _Am I right?"

Yuri laughed with a wide grin, "Yup, you caught me. And it just sort of felt right so that's what I picked," but then Yuri added hastily, "Uh but, if you don't like it we can come up with another one. Yosak and Gunter both came up with a few pretty good ones too so-"

"No," I shook my head vigorously and gave him a brief hug before backing away, "I love it. Thank you Yuri..."

He blushed and looked down at his feet shyly, "Aw it's nothing really..."

"Alright, now that that's out of the way," Conrad said pointedly before Wolfram could start going off on Yuri again for being a flirt. "I think it's about time we left. We've already stayed here too long as it is and I know that this was something important that we had to take care of but-" then, looking very serious Conrad walked over and placed his hands on my shoulders as he explained, "Listen, I know there is still a lot you don't understand about this world but we would like for you to come with us. His Eminence already agreed that we would be able to protect you much better back in the Great Demon Kingdom since you're a Double Black. And since that is the case it would only cause more problems for King Saralegui if you stayed in this country. They're already accusing him of treason because King Saralegui was associating with us so if they found out about you then it could spark a War between both Big Shimaron and Small Shimaron. We also have to consider the Heartless a threat to your life. Of course, in the end it's up to you but you have to make that choice now."

"So you're saying that if I stay here with Sara, I could end up causing a War...? Well that sucks..." I sighed, folding my hands over my heart before smiling sadly, "The truth is, Conrad, I actually think it would be better for everyone if I set out on my own to find out how the Heartless got to this world and put a stop to them before more of them start appearing using the Keyblade. After all, it looks like it is the only weapon that has the power to truly free the captive hearts that the Heartless consume in order to increase their numbers without worrying about them re-spawning somewhere else. I have to find my own strength again and become strong enough to protect everyone here."

Unexpectedly, Yosak was the one who spoke up next and reasoned, "That's noble and all young lady but do you even know where to start?"

Blinking, I replied, "Well, not really but-"

"Then why don't you just come with us Trinity? At least until you sort a few things out," Murata added with a kind expression on his face, "I mean it's better than just wandering around like you were before right? And it's not like you have to stay with us the whole time, just until you think you're ready to fight them on your own. Plus it _would_ be much easier for you to search for some answers in the Great Demon Kingdom where you wouldn't have to hide all the time like you would if you stayed here in Shimaron."

"I fully agree with His Eminence," Gunter commented with a slight nod and a smile. "Also, while you may not be able to recall very much of your past, what you _do_ seem to remember appears to be very important in regards to what is happening now. And I for one think it would benefit us both to help you remember more about it as well."

After seeing the warm expressions on each of their faces-well except for Wolfram who was being all indignant about the whole thing-I shook my head and laughed, "You're not giving me much of a choice are you? Alright, you win, I'll go with you, but only until I'm confident enough in my fighting skills to deal with the Heartless by myself."

Turning around to face Sara, I suddenly felt the urge to hug him and so without hesitation, I lifted my arms and slowly wrapped them around his neck, whispering in his ear, "Goodbye Sara. I'm sure that we'll meet again soon but until then, please don't forget what you told me because it helped me more then you know. And thank you, for becoming one of my first friends in this world," withdrawing my arms from around him, I turned to the others and nodded as I said confidently, "Alright, let's go!"


	4. Someone I Once Knew

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything from Kyo Kara Maoh or Kingdom Hearts; this is purely fan-made.

Chapter 4: Someone I Once Knew~

_I never thought that leaving Sara behind would make me feel so uneasy, but it did, and I had no idea why. Maybe it was just like with Yuri, I made a strong connection with him and it made me reluctant to let him go. That might have been it. Then again, I suddenly felt like something was wrong with Sara's heart and now I wish I had had a little more time to get to know him. Or better yet, that I could have stayed by his side because it was Sara-not Yuri-who really needed a loyal friend beside him._

_I could have warned him of the shadow I sensed lurking in his heart, ever deepening. A shadow that could someday call the Heartless to him and he would fall as I once did into darkness and be lost. Because little did we know it, but both of their lives had in one way or another been shaped for this very day. The day that this world would be opened and they would realize that they were a part of something much bigger than themselves, we all were, and I was about to be the first to find out a small part of my role in it was..._

* * *

"It's too bad we couldn't have spent more time together. I feel like we were only just starting to really get to know each other." I commented as he and Berias walked us to the door.

Sara smiled reassuringly though and said to me, "It's alright, there's nothing to be done about it now. Besides, I promised to support you no matter what you chose to do didn't I? And for your sake as well as Yuri's I think this is the best course of action for us to take. But I will do my utmost best to see to it that you can come back here one day."

I nodded with a soft smile of my own, "I'm sure you will, Sara."

"I have a question for you Trinity," Murata suddenly asked me out of nowhere.

And it took me a moment before I remembered that the name he just used was the one they were calling me now and I glanced over at him. "Hmm? What is it?"

"It's about what you mentioned before, about the Heartless-"he continued, "Can you tell us anything else about them? Like where they actually come from?"

I shook my head and looked away from him as we kept walking, "No, not really. All I remember is something about them coming from the other side of the world, a realm where darkness rules over everything..." I hugged myself as a chill ran up my spine just thinking about it. "And...if someone stays there too long, eventually their hearts and minds will start to erode and they'll turn into a Heartless themselves, losing all their sense of _'self.'_ Who knows, maybe that's what almost happened to me. I think I was...trapped there for so long that if it wasn't for the Keyblade's power the darkness would have consumed my heart too. That's all I really know for sure, I still don't know where I got the Keyblade from or how I know any of this. I still don't even understand why I was drawn to Yuri like that; it was as though the light was leading me to him because he needed me to protect him with this power that only I can use."

"Why me though?" Yuri asked honestly, crossing his arms as we walked down the stairs to the foyer below. "It's not like I actually _did_ anything special. Although, I think I understand what you meant about being rescued by the light from inside of other people."

Curious, I turned around and asked, "Really? Why's that?"

Then Yuri smiled down at me and paused for a moment as he placed a hand over his heart before explaining, "Back when we were fighting the Originators, I was lost in the darkness for a while too, unable to find my way out. While I was trapped there, I almost gave into despair when I saw a light shining in the distance just like you did. And that person reminded me where true courage comes from and it was the light I felt from the hearts of all the people that I've made friends with that have stood beside me and supported me that gave me the strength I needed to break through and conquer the darkness. So if for whatever reason I was able to help you find your way out of the same kind of darkness then I'm glad."

I smiled up at him a little sadly before averting my gaze, "You know, you're lucky to know so many people like that, people you're still connected with even now. I can't even remember my own name or the names of any the people I once cared about the same way. Well, I guess there was that one boy I told you about who tried to save me when my world was attacked by the Heartless. But, what could have happened to him after that? And who was he...?"

"I'm sure it'll all come back in no time," Yosak assured me, giving me a gentle nudge on the shoulder as he passed and a wide grin. "All you have to do is believe in yourself and follow your heart, because your heart will now what to do when it counts the most like it did when you gallantly rescued His Highness from that giant Heartless. After all, you didn't need memories to act back then did you? You just jumped right in and kicked some serious butt."

"Yeah, I guess..." I mumbled halfheartedly as we continued down the stairs and reached the front doors where a pair of soldiers opened them for us and we took our first steps outside to get into the carriage Sara had graciously prepared for us. It was still pretty dark out, but the undeniable scent of early morning dew hung in the air and we could hear the soft sound of birdsong in the distance. So all in all, I felt like we were still fairly safe.

With a self-assured nod, I turned around to get one last look at Sara's castle and commit it to memory, but the moment I turned and saw it my heart suddenly lurched painfully in my chest as the castle transformed into a different castle before my eye. It was a large bronze colored castle with many twisted green spires that extended from its base pointing in all different directions and multicolored stain glass windows. The castle itself stood on top of a small portion of land that was suspended in the air and the rest of it fell away into an endless void except for a winding path that led up to it.

The fractured memory I was seeing of that castle struck me with such force that I fell to my knees, clutching my head tightly as it throbbed painfully. Feeling as if it-and my heart-were about to burst as more flashes of memory blinded my vision and the voices of people I had forgotten started screaming in my ears, drowning out everything else.

"Trinity!" Yuri cried, rushing over to me kneeling down beside me, "Hey! What's wrong?"

"My head...it hurts so much-" I winced, looking up at him and gripping his shoulder with one hand as I said, "-but Yuri, I remember. T-there was...another castle. That castle is where I-the place where my memories-! Ah!" I gasped sharply, burying my face in his shirt and crying, "P-please, make it stop. There's so much..."

After turning around to see what was going on, Wolfram was about to accuse Yuri of his usual flirting when he looked up from us, drew his sword, and shouted suddenly, "You! Where did you come from?!"

Still clutching my head, I managed to turned and glance over my shoulder only to see that standing behind me and Yuri, there was figure dressed in the exact same black coat as I was...

He appeared there out of nowhere, silent as a shadow without any of us noticing him at first since it was so dark outside. Not even me or those who could usually sense the presence of an enemy long before they actually appeared. But, it was like there was nothing there to sense. If we weren't actually looking straight at him, it would have almost seemed like there was no one there at all.

Noticing the stranger too, Berias and the others also drew their swords and hurried over to position themselves between him, Yuri, and me. However, the cloaked figure ignored them completely and looked down to face me directly with the hint of a knowing smile tugging at his lips as he spoke.

"Trinity is it? Is that what you call yourself now? Have already abandoned everything you once were? Or...was it stolen away from you?" he asked calmly, gesturing at my heart with one finger, "Although, the fact that you can still wield a Keyblade proves differently doesn't it? One cannot wield a Keyblade without a heart from which to gather its strength. So even as broken as you are there must still be at least enough left of your heart to make it possible to manifest. Although, given your current condition I doubt you will last much longer before the darkness reclaims you... "

"Who are you?" Berias demanded harshly, both of his swords drawn and gleaming dangerously in the last traces of moonlight. "Speak your name."

The man merely inclined his head at Berias and chuckled as he curtly replied, "I am no one of consequence I assure you. Now this one on the other hand-" his gaze turned back to me and he said, "-as destitute as she now is of the light she once knew to be hers, this girl is someone very special even among Keyblade wielders. For she has a hidden power that could prove quite useful in your fight against the Heartless, or to the ones who summoned them to this world for their own objective."

My eyes widened in shock and I asked him sharply, "What are you saying? Do you...know something about me...?"

Ignoring my questions, the hooded figure slowly raised his arms up over his head and said, "It was only a matter of time before someone like you found their way here to this rather _'unique'_ world. A world so cut off from the rest that it's perception of time ebbs and flows to either as slow and steady as a stream or as quick and rampant as a raging storm. So, who could honestly say how long you have been trapped in between its darkness and the original world from whence you came? A day? A year? A lifetime? And...who can say for certain that the name you have lost is the only one you ever had? Or, that you _really_ never met King Yuri, the one who is two and has now become the seventh? For did he not also once bear another's name and now holds their heart within him...?"

Before we could ask what in the world he meant by all that, some sort of a dark portal appeared behind him and he simply took a step back from us and disappeared as silently as he first came. Leaving us all stunned and still searching for answers. Where did he come from? What did he know about me? And more importantly, why did he single out Yuri just now...?

* * *

"Great, more mysteries..." Wolfram grumbled once we finally made it safely to the ship despite the unexpected delay while Sara and Berias had already returned to the castle to make sure that the castle was secure against not only the threat of the Heartless, but also from other uninvited guests like the man we encountered earlier.

"I know. I'm sorry Wolfram," I apologized after he set me down. "I don't like this any more than you do. I didn't understand even half of what that man meant by all that. Only that he seems to know something about me."

With a sigh, Wolfram surprised me by saying, "It's not your fault that you're so clueless about what's really going on here. You can't remember anything. Besides, we don't know for certain yea if he was telling the truth about any of it. Everything he said about you and Yuri might have just been a trick to make you _think_ he knows something and then he'll try to deceive you into remembering something that never actually happened. That's what His Eminence thinks anyway. He thinks that maybe what really happened to you is that someone _did_ steal your memories and then they planted the idea in your head that you knew Yuri before so that you would try and find him as soon as you lost your memories. That's what some people use as a typical brainwashing strategy for making assassins out of innocent people like you..."

Confused and troubled by Murata's observation, I stared back into Wolfram's emerald eyes-searching for their honesty-and asked him, "Wait, Murata he...really thinks that someone would do that to me just to get close to Yuri even after all this? Why would he think that, let alone say it behind my back?"

Suddenly looking very uncomfortable when he realized that he said too much, Wolfram was about to answer me when-

"Come on you guys, hurry up! We better get Trinity inside so she can get some rest on the way back home while she has the chance," Yuri called, waving us over before ducking inside with Gunter, Murata, Conrad and Yosak. "Because people are going to go nuts about her when they see her black hair, especially you-know-who!"

Wolfram was about to follow after the suite when I grabbed his arm and said to him, "Look, I know that you don't like me but I'm...really scared right now and Yuri's the only person who makes me feel safe. He's all I have, even if these feelings are false. Otherwise, why did I bother coming with you at all?"

"That's not why I told you," Wolfram said, shaking me off, "It doesn't matter if you're telling the truth or if this is some kind of plot to get you close to Yuri. The fact is that you were brought here for a reason and we need to find out what it is. And I promise that we'll find the truth behind your appearance and the Heartless, and then you can go back to where you came from right? Isn't that what you want? To go home?"

Feeling like there was another meaning behind what Wolfram said just now-a sense of jealousy that under-laced his words-I shoved past Wolfram and because his words hurt so much, I said harshly to him as I passed, "Wolfram, if you really don't want me here that much then why don't you just say it to my face instead of hiding behind someone else's words? Don't you get it yet? There's no _home_ for me to go back to, only darkness. And you know what? Right now the darkness I'm feeling inside of your heart will only keep growing with your hateful words and it will only bring the same darkness upon you and you'll lose everything you care about just like I did. So you better shape up and fix that bad attitude of yours, because whether you like it or not I genuinely care about what happens to Yuri regardless of what was behind our meeting and I won't hesitate to bring you down if you become a Heartless. And if you ever did, it would be your own fault, not mine."


	5. The Truth In Lies

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything from Kyo Kara Maoh or Kingdom Hearts; this is purely fan-made.

Chapter 5: The Truth In Lies~

_(Original Song: Dream of Me by TheKeybladeForger)_

_Verse 1:_

_This is me and this is you_

_We are like the earth and stars when they collide_

_Lights streaking the sky, making wishes._

_A wish to be with you and hold your hand again._

_So please, oh baby-_

_Chorus:_

_This time dream of me_

(This time dream of me)

_I want to be your everything._

_Even when you think that I am nothing to you now_

_You made me who I am today_

_And I will still hold you together when you fall apart…_

_Verse 2:_

_These pieces of me are crumbling, crumbling down…_

_Silently they fall without a sound._

_No more laughter, no more tears._

_It's just me, coming down to where you are._

_Dreaming, yes dreaming, of the regret of leaving everything behind._

_So please, oh baby-_

_Chorus 2:_

_This time dream of me_

(This time dream of me)

_I want to hold you close and tell you everything._

_Even when you think that I am no longer with you_

_Here I am_

_Just like when we were younger, when nothing could keep us apart…_

_Verse 3:_

_I was lost but now I'm found again_

_Unwanted, but as unwavering as the promise of a sunrise._

_Here I am again, walking this road so I can find you,_

_The lost friend I'm close to finding that I know will surely keep his promise;_

_The promise of remembering me, _

_And all the things I used to be even after I'm long gone._

_So please, oh baby-_

_Chorus 3:_

_This time dream of me_

(This time dream of me)

_I want to fight for the tomorrow you said would come_

_When a new day will be dawning as the night falls away._

_So please, just promise me one thing_

_That when my tears are done shedding, _

_And the fight is won, that we'll see that sunrise_

_Together._

_Chorus Final:_

_Take my hand_

(Take my hand)

_And we'll go_

(And we'll go)

_To a place we've been before_

(To a place we've been before)

_Where nothing seems broken_

(Where nothing seems broken)

_And all these pieces make a whole_

(And all these pieces make a whole)

_Where you and I will still be standing_

(Where you and I will still be standing)

_Underneath the same sky…where we made this wish_

(Underneath the same sky…where we made this wish)

* * *

_"Our hearts are full of memories - but not all of them reflect the truth." ~Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories_

* * *

"Wolfram, you shouldn't have told her what His Eminence said without hearing the rest of what he had to say," Conrad frowned, looking very displeased with his younger brother after he saw what Wolfram did to me earlier. "It was only a theory and you clearly hurt her feelings by saying that it was otherwise. She's trying not to admit it, but I can tell just how frightened Trinity is about not being able to remember anything or knowing which feelings she can trust. And I know you have the tendency to be very blunt about your distrust of others but even I think you were way out of line this time."

Wolfram flinched when Conrad gave him another pointed stare and finally, he just shrugged his shoulders and replied in a huff, "Alright already! I'll apologize to her as soon as we get home. That still doesn't mean I'm ready to trust her yet even though she did save Yuri's life. There's still too much we don't know and it would be reckless to-"

"Reckless? But aren't you usually one of the _'Kings of Recklessness'_ alongside His Highness?" Yosak commented slyly as he quietly approached them.

Turning to face him, Conrad asked, "How is she?"

"Still locked up in her room I'm afraid," Yosak shrugged, "Not that I blame her for it after the way we've been treating her. And to be honest, if it wasn't for the fact that she's a Double Black with amnesia I think we should have let her go do her own thing. As it stands though, the young lady _is_ a Double Black and that will make her a target to others aside from those Heartless things, so she's better off coming with us for now. Not that we gave her much of a choice either way which kinda makes me feel like the bad guy here."

"Yosak," Conrad half-smiled and joked, "I've known you for a long time now but you seemed to have warmed up to Trinity rather quickly. Are you developing a crush on her too like Gunter just because the first female Double Black that we've ever encountered? I never would have guessed."

Yosak laughed and grinned, "Pfft as if! I'll give it to her that she is a gifted uh..._swordsman_ since I don't know what else to call it, however, I'm still as much of a lone ranger as ever. Its just that I see a lot of similarities between her and the young man. Like how they both are willing to take the first step forward when it comes to protecting someone even when they're strangers because that's what's in their hearts. Can't fault her for that."

"Whatever, I'm going to get some air," Wolfram suddenly announced and started to leave, "I'm starting to feel sick again."

"Uh oh," Yosak grimaced and dashed over to him. "I better go with you so you don't try to fall overboard again," glancing at Conrad he waved, "You coming Captain?"

Conrad nodded, "Yes, I'll be right out. But first I think I'll check on His Highness too while I'm down here."

"Sounds like a plan," Yosak nodded, turning to follow Wolfram out the door when he suddenly paused and added, "By the way-"

"Hmm? What is it?" Conrad blinked, surprised by how serious his friend had suddenly become.

"It's about what that hooded guy said before, about King Yuri having another name. Do you think he actually knows? About Julia's soul I mean? Or was he just trying to psych us all out?"

Conrad's eyes narrowed, "I'm not entirely sure, however I personally think its worth looking into once we return to the castle. I also want to know what he meant about Yuri being _'the one who is two and has now become the seventh.' _I believe part of it might be referring to his Demon King form but the part about _'being the seventh'_ is still a mystery. As much of a mystery as what we've yet to learn regarding Trinity's lost memories anyway. We'll just have to wait and see if there really is some kind of connection between His Highness and this girl from another world..."

* * *

Meanwhile, back in Sara's castle, Ranjeel's messengers had arrived and now it was up to Sara to convince them of his innocence so that there wouldn't be a Civil War between their two countries because of Yuri. They didn't know about me yet though so that was a small blessing. Still, coming up with a story to explain my absence as well as Yuri's was going to be rather difficult. Or at least it would have been...were it not for Sara's hidden _'talent'_ of persuasion.

"I believe you know why we have come here, King Saralegui," the first messenger stated once the three of them reached the threshold of his throne. Janis of course standing a ways back from the other two in order to ascertain Sara's true character from the sidelines.

"Tell us where the Demon King is currently located. As well as what happened to the girl in black whom we have heard reports was last seen being brought here to your castle after she single-handedly defeated the monster we faced. That being said we demand to know who she is, and what she has to do with the Demon King. And quite honestly, why would you even _think_ to ally yourself with the likes of _them_?" the other said distastefully.

"He came here to threatened me," Sara simply replied as-a-matter-of-factually.

"Threaten you?"

"The Demon King tried to threaten me into betraying Big Shimaron and joining the Great Demon Kingdom Alliance. And that poor girl, she was tricked into serving him due to her apparent memory loss..." Sara continued, his eyes quivering sadly, "I could not do anything to stop them from taking her with them even after I found out that not only is she from another world, but she also happens to be a Double Black who wields a very special weapon called a _'Keyblade.'_ Although at the very least I can assure you that she was most certainly a human."

Their eyes widened in shock at the unexpected revelation about me but with a level stare one of the messengers raised their voice angrily, "Do you honestly expect us to believe that? Now where are you keeping her? And where has the Demon King gone?"

"It's true! That's why I invited the Demon King here. I was hoping to delay him long enough to turn him over and save that girl once I realized that she was being manipulated and that the weapon she wields is used to slay dark creatures such as the Heartless we saw before that seems to be known as a Darkside. But..."

"Don't think you can fool us!" the second messenger snapped, looking utterly unconvinced.

Unshaken by their harsh accusations, Sara slowly began to pull off his glasses and sighed, "This result must have been in accord to the Demon Kings plan," he removed them completely, "That Big Shimaron and Small Shimaron would be divided..." then his eyes started to glow a haunting shade of blue as Sara continued seductively, "You'll come to think the same, won't you?"

The messengers gasped as they felt that same blankness wash over them that I felt when I first came to this world as his power slowly invaded their hearts and minds. Janis however, was unaffected by Sara's hypnosis and watched carefully as he forced his will upon the other two men and told them, "But that will not happen. My loyalty towards Big Shimaron and King Ranjeel will not change. I will rescue that girl and ask her to use her unique powers to save us from the new threat that has arisen, the Heartless. This I swear," then Sara released them from his spell and leaned back in his throne as if to admire his handiwork.

They blinked in confusion for a moment before one of them turned to the other and said, "That's true, isn't it! Cursed Demon tribe, to engage in such foul play!"

His companion nodded, "We will tell King Ranjeel of your loyalty! And we will also leave the fate of that poor girl in your capable hands."

"Please do so," Sara said. "I will do everything in my power to rescue her and discover the truth behind the Heartless as well."

They bowed to Sara briefly and then started to leave. All of them except for Janis that is, who yet lingered behind. And as Sara looked up after he returned his glassed, he was surprised to see that this man hadn't been effected by his power and smirked, "It seems my power didn't touch you. A Esoteric user hmm? How about it? Will you join me? I'm sure I'll allow you much more use of your power then being under Ranjeel does." Sara offered whimsically.

Janis bowed his head, "This is a sudden invitation, but I cannot accept your offer."

Leaning forward slightly, Sara insisted, "Why? You surely aren't loyal to Big Shimaron. Your master isn't Ranjeel, is it?" Sara noted Janis's sudden discomfort and he smiled again before leaning back and relenting, "Well all right. It's a shame but I'll give up. Berias, please see him to the front doors."

"Yes sir," Berias replied.

After that, Janis bowed and said politely, "Please excuse me.""

As he followed the halls with Berias, Janis pondered to himself-_That girl, could she really be a Double Black like King Saralegui is suggesting? That would explain some of the power I sensed hidden inside of her but...that weapon, the Keyblade, I could have sworn I've heard of it somewhere before. Where could it have been I wonder...?_

As Berias and Janis walked along he looked up and commented, "So you are Sir Berias."

"Do you find that a problem?" Berias asked, glancing over his shoulder.

"No. I merely heard that Small Shimaron has the services of a great swordsman. Not merely skilled with the sword, but a master of all martial arts. For instance, yes...the bow."

Berias didn't have anything to say to what Janis was implying so he continued walking in silence. Though it was clear now that Janis knew Berias has something to do with the arrow aimed at Yuri. But then, while they were walking Janis happened to stop in front of King Gilbert's portrait-the portrait of Sara's father I believe-and observed, "This is? Is this the previous King, Gilbert?"

"Yes." Berias answered, glancing over his shoulder again.

"He doesn't look much like King Saralegui does he?" Janis pointed out. And again, Berias said nothing and simply finished his task as he escorted him out the doors like he had done earlier with us before the other hooded man appeared.

He watched them go in silence before once again turning and closing the doors behind him, wondering how much Janis really knew or what he would do now with the information Sara had given them about me despite promising not to tell anyone. Unaware of the danger he had not only put me in, but Yuri and their entire world.

* * *

A lone figure stood before the very castle I had seen the vision of before looking up at its spires with a knowing gaze. Thinking back on the brief encounter he had with me, idly wondering if I recognized him at all when we met in front of Sara's castle...

It had been far too long since he spared a thought about what he once meant to me when he was still human. But now he was nothing but an agent of the darkness who was charged with capturing me once my memories had resurfaced and all my powers returned. Including those that had nothing to do with the Keyblade.

The cloaked figure silently bent down and picked up a pile of sand-which sifted smoothly through his gloved fingers-and he chuckled, "This world is so fleeting. A world now reduced to almost nothing but sand that is easily swept away by the tides of darkness and abandoned by time itself. Almost just like their world. However, over time sometimes the worlds miraculously find a way to gather together the broken pieces of themselves again in order to build a new world from the ashes that remain. Yet it still holds true how they are destroyed so easily in the first place, how pathetic."

Then he looked up at the castle again and mused, "Can the same also be said of the heart that has been destroyed? Will it also be reshaped and molded into a new form? Or will it be washed away, forever, in the tides of darkness threatening to overwhelm it...? Let us hope that you find your light again soon, and remember the name that will awaken the rest of your true memories before those so-called friends of yours turn you into someone else without even realizing it."


	6. In Its Silence We Forget

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything from Kyo Kara Maoh or Kingdom Hearts; this is purely fan-made.

~Chapter 6: In Its Silence We Forget~

_"I'm what's left. Or...Maybe I'm all there ever was." ~Kingdom Hearts II_

I don't know when exactly I fell asleep but my eyes flew open when I woke up with a start to the droned-out whistle of cannon-fire flying through the air. Then the ship lurched to the side when one of them almost stuck the bow of the ship, only missing it by a few inches. Once the ship righted itself though I rushed out of bed and immediately summoned my Keyblade and started heading back to the deck where I was sure the others already were.

_It looks like Big Shimaron must have found us. Either that or the Heartless have so I better get out there and help everyone, _I thought. Although I still had some reservations about facing Wolfram again since I was still angry at him for basically telling me that I was an unwanted member of their group and I shouldn't even be here. If he really believed I was a threat to Yuri, then they should never have invited me to come with them, or maybe it was _because_ they thought that I was a potential threat that they wanted to bring me to their Kingdom where they would be able to keep close tabs on me. And that thought made my heart ache painfully.

Shaking my head, I dismissed such thoughts when I saw Yuri run past me while chasing after Conrad-who had already gone outside to see what was going on. Of course, Conrad had explicitly told Yuri to stay in his room where it was safe but being the true _'king of recklessness'_ as Yosak put it, Yuri ended up following him anyway. And after seeing that fierce look on his face as he passed by me I almost laughed at how determined Yuri was to help his friends no matter what dangers he would have to face...

And for some reason that look of Yuri's almost reminded me of that boy I kept seeing in my dreams; the one that I used to be very close friends with. And who knows, maybe that was why I felt so protective over Yuri since they seemed so similar and because I had already lost that friend. I couldn't lose him too, I wouldn't. It didn't matter what Wolfram or Murata thought about me, I would keep on believing that a bond existed between the two of us and I would continue to until I was either proven wrong or I built a new bond of my own with each of them; including Wolfram.

Deciding to vent my frustration by slaying the Heartless that were surely lying in wait outside, I shoved the doors with all my might just in time to see that Yuri was about be killed by a falling mast. Horrified, I ran towards him and yelled, "STOP!"

And then-almost as instinctively as I fought the Darkside in that field-I screeched to a halt, pointed my Keyblade directly at the mast, and shouted, "STOPZA!"

We all watched in amazement after I cast my spell as the mast slowed its decent on Yuri and stopped only inches away from crushing him. Not wanting to risk it though, Conrad dove under the frozen mast and pushed them both out of the way, expecting it to fall right after I stopped it with my magic...

It didn't.

In fact, the spell I cast froze time around the entire ship. There was even a loose cannonball hanging in midair only a few feet from the water; not to mention there was a tower of water frozen in place where one had already hit. The rest of us however, weren't affected. Or at least I managed to only freeze time around the objects around us instead of the people who still had to keep fighting. And even the Heartless I saw who had appeared moments before I arrived on deck all had a strange clock-like image floating above their heads.

Unused to performing such high level magic-or any magic for that matter-I felt a sudden wave of dizziness and rapidly started losing the strength to maintain the spell much longer. Then I could feel my body start to tremble as my legs gave way beneath me. I could hardly move, but once I finally figured out how to stem the flow of magic all that was left was for us to wait for its effects to wear off. I only hoped I would be able to get up again soon and help them fight the rest of the Heartless once they unfroze.

"Yuri! Are you alright?" Conrad shouted, too preoccupied with his safety to worry about what just happened.

"Yes, I'm fine but-look, over there! It's Trinity!" Yuri pointed in my direction and called, "Hey, are you ok?!"

I tried to answer him but I couldn't muster the energy to even look up in their general direction since my body was still in shock from using magic again for the first time. Then, without warning, my eyes rolled back and I collapsed with a dull thud...

After he saw me faint, Yuri wanted to run over to me right away to check if I was alright but Big Shimaron was still fast approaching and getting ready to board our ship to capture us. Not to mention some of Yuri's soldiers were still busy fending off the remaining Heartless too. Even Gunter was doing his best to defeat them before Big Shimaron's ships arrived.

"Looks like they'll use whatever means necessary to take His Majesty prisoner," Yosak commented grimly as they stood at the ready, bracing themselves for another wave of attacks from them too.

In response to that, Conrad drew his sword again while Murata came over to me, lifted me upright, and replaced my hood in hopes that once the enemy boarded our ship they wouldn't find out who I was. Unaware of course that Sara had already revealed my identity to them which was another reason they were attacking, because they wanted to capture me too to test Sara's theory about Yuri _'brainwashing'_ me and both Janis and Ranjeel wanted to witness the powers that my Keyblade possessed for themselves.

"Conrad?" Yuri blinked. "What're you-"

"Don't worry. No matter what I must do, I won't let them have you. Or Trinity either," Conrad said, looking into Yuri's eyes before nodding at Murata too and turning to glare at our enemies closing in on us. Then Wolfram, Gunter, and Yosak all gathered in front of Yuri and me and then braced themselves for the second wave of attack.

It wasn't long though before they heard cannon fire again and were bracing for another bombardment when nothing happened. At first, they thought that Big Shimaron merely missed us until suddenly Yuri realized that we weren't the ones being shot at! So he whirled around and saw that another fleet of ships were shooting cannon's at Big Shimaron's ships in return and Yuri looked at the others hopefully when he realized-it was the Great Demon Kingdom's navy!

After that Yuri sighed in relief and looked back over at me and even though I was still unconscious, he smiled, "It's going to be ok now Trinity, Gwendal's come to save us!"

"Brother?" Wolfram gaped, trying to figure out how he knew to bring their fleet with him.

"Nice timing!" Murata grinned happily, "That's Lord Von Voltaire for you!"

Realizing that Murata was the one responsible for Gwendal's speedy arrival, Yuri exclaimed, "Murata! You knew this would happen?!"

Looking up at Yuri, Murata grinned again, "I won't lose to Big Shimaron when it comes to being prepared."

Gwendal's ships soon formed a solid wall between us and Big Shimaron as they continued to rain down cannon fire on them to force Ranjeel to cease his attack. As for the Heartless, it wasn't long before they retreated too. And my guess later on was that the Heartless had responded to the darkness inside of Ranjeel's heart and that's why only we were attacked this time. After all, while the Heartless in this world were supposedly already under the control of someone, by nature they will usually follow the will of whomever is strongest at the time; so Ranjeel's hatred of Yuri and his Kingdom was what most likely made them appear this time around.

* * *

"So you're saying that this girl came from another world?" Gwendal repeated just confirm he had heard Wolfram correctly.

Wolfram nodded, "That's right. It's one of the few things she can remember about herself. Aside from that Trinity doesn't even know her real name and that's why Yuri gave her this one until she can remember it along with everything else."

Turning to Yosak and Gunter, Gwendal asked them, "Is this true?"

"Yes, there's no mistake about that. There's no mistake but..." Yosak replied unsurely when Wolfram spoke again.

"I believe that she is at least telling the truth about her amnesia as well as her knowledge of these creatures. And it would make more sense that she from another world given the fact that Trinity can use a type of magic that doesn't exist here in our world, not to mention her Keyblade can be summoned into her hand at will. Not even Esoteric Masters can conjuror up weapons from thin air the way she does," Wolfram stated before adding a little more bluntly, "What I don't believe though is that she actually knows Yuri. However, Trinity has proven to me that her feelings about protecting him were sincere and she has no interest in hurting Yuri so I need to apologize for doubting her intentions. That's why I think that we should try to help her in any way that we can. Including keeping her safe from the Heartless."

Falling silent for a moment, Gwendal was considering his words before turning to Conrad to ask for his opinion too since he trusted his judgment of character a little more than he did his youngest brother. "What do you say about this, Conrad?"

"I think we should watch over her a bit longer and see how this situation will develop before we decide on anything. There is still a lot that we are uncertain of and there's also the matter concerning the man in the black robe who appeared before us when we were leaving Saralegui's castle."

Nodding in agreement, Murata added, "I agree that we should keep an eye on Trinity and make sure that nothing else happens to her. As for that man, he seemed to know quite a lot about Shibuya and Trinity but didn't give us any clear answers. Although there are a few things we did learn from what little he did say before he disappeared-" glancing over his shoulder at the others for a moment he turned back to Gwendal and continued, "-one is that there appears that there is someone here in our world that brought both the Heartless and Trinity to our world. Another is that it would seem that there are others who can wield Keyblade's as well. And lastly, he seemed to be hinting or at least implying that Trinity has a previous life that may have some connection to Shibuya's past that even we are unaware of. Though it still concerns me that he also seemed to be aware of the time-difference between this world and others as well as Lady Julia's presence inside of Shibuya's heart."

Pausing to gather his thoughts, Gwendal then asked, "What of King Saralegui?"

"Again, I think it would be best for us to wait and see what happens with him as well. After all he only just managed to avert a rebellion in his Kingdom and an invasion by his neighboring country of Big Shimaron. It may be best to come back to this as soon as Small Shimaron's internal matters have settled down. And I'm sure he's just as curious as we are about Trinity so he'll likely start searching for this man again too to get some answers. So he won't have much time to worry about completing any kind of alliance with us for a while," Murata replied.

"I agree that we should examine these two subjects with the utmost caution," Gunter added calmly. "Especially in regards to Trinity who is in a very unstable condition right now. Our main focus should be attending to her well-being before trying to unravel the rest of the mystery behind recent events."

"Very well. I want to hear the rest of the details once we're back in the castle. We'll make an official decision afterwords," Gwendal concluded solemnly.

With a smile, Murata added, "It'll give Trinity a chance to get some more rest too after using such powerful magic to save Shibuya and exhausting herself again. But at least we know now that she has no intention of hurting him consciously or not. So once Trinity wakes up I'm going to have to apologize for doubting her along with Lord Von Bielefeld here. I was wrong."

* * *

By the time we finally made it to the shores of the Great Demon Kingdom, I still hadn't regained consciousness or showed signs of waking up anytime soon. We made it back to Yuri's homeland safely by the next day, but they knew something was seriously wrong with me when nothing they tried was able to wake me up so I was brought to the castle ahead of them.

Despite still being very concerned about me Yuri allowed himself to relax a little once they passed through the castle gates; knowing that maybe now they could focus on finding out the truth about me and the Heartless problem. That is, until Yuri saw the Ten Nobles waiting for him at his doorstep and realized that the real trouble had only just begun.

"Uh...I'm home..." Yuri said, laughing nervously.

"We'd like to discuss the event of your meeting with Small Shimaron's King Saralegui." Lord Beilifeld began bluntly. "That, and why you've brought a stranger back here to the castle with you, a human no less, when you know nothing about her."

"Um...about that..." Yuri began to explain uncomfortably when-

"Oh, we don't have to stand out here," Lord Karbelnikoff said with a smile, "You can tell us all about it at the round table."

"The round table?!" Wolfram and Gunter both shouted at the same time.

"Uncle!" Wolfram protested, knowing full well how terrible it could be meeting in there of all places.

"That's too harsh for someone unprepared for it!" Gunter yelped.

Gwendal smirked and noted, "So the round table has made its move...We have no other choice." Then suddenly, soldiers literally picked Yuri up and took him through the front doors despite his indignant protests straight to the room where the round table stood. And so, with that the conference of the Ten Nobles began...

* * *

Where am I? _I wondered when I opened my eyes and stood up, looking around and seeing that I wasn't on Yuri's ship anymore. I was surrounded by white inside of a castle that was decorated with roses, pillars lining the walls, and a golden door resting at the top of a short staircase. I knew this place and yet, I didn't. So was I dreaming? Or touching a memory buried deep inside of me? Maybe even...a little of both?_

_Either way I wasn't going to figure out anything just standing there so I made my way towards the door and was about to open it when I jerked my hand back hesitantly. Beyond this doorway was a world crafted from memory; my memories. Those were the laws of this castle. Everything here was ruled by memories, and the further in you went the more you would forget in hopes of reclaiming what you had lost._

_But what did I even lose in the first place...? I couldn't remember. And how did I know so much about this castle anyway? Did someone tell me about it a long time ago? Did I discover it on my own when I was actually here? There was no way for me to know. All I did know is that my heart was trying to show me the most important thing I needed to know; that this castle had something to do with my forgotten past. Still, why was I dreaming about it again now?_

_It was always the same after I first saw an image of this castle back in Small Shimaron. I would fall asleep and then wake up here and the door would open; revealing fragmented instances of my past that I could hardly make out. And seeing them made my heart ache so painfully that I would eventually retreat from the memories and wake up, making me wonder if my past was still worth remembering if it was so painful..._


	7. Whispers Of The Past

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything from Kyo Kara Maoh, Disney, Final Fantasy, or Kingdom Hearts; this is purely fan-made.

**Note: **Alright! Now we're cooking! So, at long last we're finally starting to get into more of the new story-content of this remake. And so most of this chapter is going to start including Sara more in what's going on as a whole and even tempting him into succumbing to the darkness inside of his own heart. Though I still haven't decided who the main villain should be...but I want them to be directly from the Kingdom Hearts universe so it'll probably be Master Xehanort or someone like that. Also, in the disclaimer at the top of this chapter you'll notice that I added _'Disney' and_ _'Final Fantasy'_ to the list of things I don't own but would like to include more elements of them both in this story.

~Chapter 7: Whispers Of The Past~

"_A Scattered Dream that's like a far off memory. A far off memory that's like a scattered dream. I wanna line the pieces up...yours and mine." ~Kingdom Hearts II_

Ever since I left Sara's castle with the others, he spent a lot of his free time trying to discern what that hooded figure meant by everything he said about Yuri and me. And like Murata, Sara also seemed to believe that the part about Yuri being the_ 'one who is two'_ was referring to his form as the Demon King. As for _'becoming the seventh'_ Sara had a few theories about that but nothing concrete as of yet.

Out of all his theories though, Sara suspected that the one he came up with about Yuri being the seventh _'incarnation'_ of his soul was what the man in the hood was hinting at. Because after saying that Yuri once bore another's name this was the only theory that made any sense. However, the part about bearing _'their'_ heart seemed to be focusing on one person in particular that Yuri used to be. And it was that person who Sara believed supposedly had some sort of connection to me, but-being skilled in the same kind of manipulation himself-Sara had a strong feeling that the part about me meeting Yuri in a past life of my own was all a lie; and the only life I had likely ever lived was the one I couldn't recall...

It was the perfect trap; by implying or _'hinting'_ that there was a connection between us through the memories of a past life it was all too easy to make Yuri and his friends wonder if there was any truth in those words. So, with that in mind, for whatever reason I had been specifically led to Yuri in the hope that the moment I felt anything remotely familiar about him I would try to make that bond between us real. And by doing so they could ultimately make me believe exactly what they wanted me to about my past without any proof that it was true. It was almost similar to what Sara could do with his powers; he could force the idea of something into the hearts and minds of others and then make them believe all of it is completely genuine.

For a while, Sara was unsure of who our enemy's true target really was between the two of us until he remembered what the man in the black hood said about the ones who were responsible for bringing me to this world were also controlling the Heartless. Therefore it stood to reason that whoever they were that they were after me more than they were after Yuri, who it seems was just the bait to lure me out into the open once I emerged from the Realm of Darkness.

Speaking of darkness, soon after I left Sara received word that more of the Heartless were starting to appear throughout the world and attacking people indiscriminately. Although the only pattern he could see was that wherever the Heartless appeared they were more prone to attacking citizens foolish enough to traverse at night or dusk. Unfortunately, these recent attacks included citizens in Sara's lands as well so his soldiers were keeping very busy patrolling the streets at night and further research was being to try and deal with the new types of Heartless that started spawning in certain areas of the surrounding country and cities. Heartless such as Armored Knights, Wyverns, Wizards, Lance Soldiers, and Soldiers as just a few examples.

"...and so I would advise that we try not to spread out our forces too thinly since these monster's seem to attack anyone unlucky enough to cross paths with them regardless of who they are, especially if they're in a small group or traveling alone. Of course I'm not suggesting to decrease the amount of troops patrolling the border but we need to strengthen the defenses in the city and the surrounding villages so that we don't have to be as concerned for the safety of our citizens," one of Sara's councilors suggested. "We have already made the announcements concerning the curfew that Your Highness agreed on in our last meeting. Now all that is left is to find the root of this evil and put a stop to these foul creatures before this situation gets anymore out of hand."

With a solemn nod, Sara replied, "Yes, I know. And I am currently looking into that myself. However, there is only so much we can do without the help of that girl I mentioned before. Because from what I've seen her weapon is the only one that is very effective on the Heartless and she knows more about them than we do. We can still kill them with our own weapons of course but if those freed _'hearts'_ find their way into new Heartless for every two that we slay one more returns, and that is getting us nowhere. As I said before however she is in a very delicate situation right now with her amnesia so having her return here is out of the question, at least for now."

Exchanging worried looks, another of Sara's councilors added, "Indeed, we've heard the rumors about this girl and her key-shaped weapon and how she saved both Your Majesty's life and the Demon King's. Is it true though that she is a Double-Black?"

"For the most part, yes, it is true. Although her left eye is actually silver rather than pitch black like her hair and the other eye," Sara answered with a smile, "She's beautiful young woman and a very skilled warrior. We would be very fortunate to have someone like her on our side along with the support of the Great Demon Kingdom Alliance. With their help, surely we will be able to subdue this new threat to our world and protect our people."

"Well said Your Highness," the first councilor nodded before adding, "Now if that is all, I believe it would be best for us to adjourn and prepare the troops. Is that agreeable Your Majesty?" Sara nodded, and with a bow each of them left one by one until only Sara and Berias remained...

Once they were alone Sara sighed before smiling mischievously, "I wonder how Trinity is faring in the Great Demon Kingdom right now. Although I'm sure that Trinity probably already has her hands full dealing with their politics concerning being a human in a land of demons. Poor girl, I almost feel sorry for her. It's hard enough that her memory is a mess but she still hardly knows anything about the affairs of this world..."

Berias nodded in agreement and added, "I am sure Lady Trinity will learn what she needs to know without too much trouble, especially with someone such as King Yuri there to help her. And even without memories I'm sure that she can handle herself."

"Oh? It's rare to hear you praise someone like that Berias," Sara mused, resting a hand under his chin as he peered over at Berias beside him, "As I recall, the last person you complimented so highly like that was Lord Weller and he is widely known as a renowned War-hero. So to hear you say that for Trinity even though we hardly know her is rather surprising, even coming from you."

Closing his eyes, Berias replied, "Perhaps. But even so, when we first met Lady Trinity I could see the strength of her resolve burning in her dark eyes despite all of the hardships that she has endured up until then. And I firmly believe that kind of strength only comes from those with something to protect. There are far too few people in this world with that kind of courage to fight even when all odds stand against them; with the exception of course of the Demon King," he added at the end. "Those two are very much alike so I can see why she would be drawn to him whether or not they do have some connection to one another..."

* * *

After what must have felt like an eternity, Yuri and the other nobles finally dispersed from the round table and took a short break for lunch. But sadly Yuri couldn't really eat anything because the very thought of food made him feel queasy after being spun around repeatedly in the _'modified'_ chair that was redesigned because the previous Demon Queen would up and leave the meetings before they finished, forcing them to these extreme measures to keep her in place.

During their meal Gunter started to tell Yuri about what each noble was like while Wolfram kept advising Yuri to stay sharp once the meeting continued since each of them were very capable individuals who have served their past Demon Kings and Queens for generations. However, while dealing with them was at the forefront of his mind, Yuri was also distracted while worrying about the fact that I still hadn't regained consciousness yet, which I definitely should have by now.

"Huh..." Yuri sighed deeply while looking very distressed about the whole thing.

"Is something wrong, Your Majesty?" Gunter asked, lowering his Spork.

"Oh nothing. Hey, Gwendal?" Yuri asked curiously when he recalled something that happened during the meeting and glanced over at him, "Why did you stop me from talking about the Great One?"

"Because it is his will." Gwendal answered simply before taking another bite of his food.

"That's right." Murata said as he came strolling in with the Great One-in his smaller form-standing on his shoulder.

"Murata! Great One!" Yuri blinked, surprised to see them both.

"Yuri. The Ten Nobles no matter how many Kings there has been support me completely. So if I were to say that I was against it they'd be behind me all the way and that isn't the way it should be," The Great One told him firmly.

"Oh," Yuri admitted...

He hadn't thought of that.

"The one they must support is not me. It's you," the Great One concluded with a knowing glint in his eyes.

"And that's that so...do your best buddy!" Murata agreed, smiling at Yuri encouragingly.

"O-okay." Yuri said unsurely before glancing back at him and adding, "By the way, how's Trinity doing? Is she still..."

"Asleep? Unfortunately yeah," Murata replied, "Whatever that spell was that she used to stop time, it took a lot out of her and Geisila said that because her condition was very unstable to begin with Trinity may have slipped into a temporary coma. Even the Great One wasn't able to do anything to snap her out of it when I brought him to see her, it's almost like Trinity is trapped inside of her own heart."

Wolfram's Spork dropped with a clatter and he exclaimed, "What?! You mean, not even his voice could reach her?! But he's the Great One!"

"I know, I'm just as shocked by this as you are," The Great One admitted, shrugging his shoulders, "However, this girl...there's something very unusual about her and it's not just the way she looks or that weapon you were telling me about. I don't know what it is yet, but, I think it is something worth investigating."

* * *

_Still ensnared within the thrall of the memories of days I've long since long forgotten, I wandered through the white halls of the strange castle in my dreams and I started to remember a little bit more about the day I lost everything that was ever important to me. That day, there was someone important by my side who was desperately trying to keep a hold of my hand as the world around us continued to fall apart and crumble away into nothingness. My best friend, whose name and face I still couldn't quite remember..._

_As our fingers slid out of one another's he looked up at me, forced a smile, and promised, "Don't worry _ I'll find you again! Even if it takes me years, even if everything else vanishes into the darkness or we forget each other, I promise you that I'll keep searching for you until we're together again. And I will never let go of your hand ever again."_

_Just before he said that, I saw another memory of the two of us trying to get away from the Heartless and I was honestly surprised to see that I already had the Keyblade at that point. But, I still didn't know what having it meant, how I was chosen, or what I was doing with it. I still couldn't remember anything important like that, just that back then I was using it to fight our way through and saving as many people as I could along the way._

"_Keep going _," he shouted at one point during our journey, suddenly veering off the path to try and lead the Heartless away from me so that I had a clearer path towards the Door that lead to the heart of that world which the Heartless were trying to open and devour completely. "I'll catch up with you! Just don't look back, remember to always fight forward and eventually you'll find your way through!"_

_Then, the scenery changed abruptly and the two of us were idly sitting on the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea and that same boy-whose face I still couldn't see clearly-turned to me and said warmly, "I think I understand now what he meant about how always moving forward is the only way to make it to tomorrow. Because if you get keep getting lost in the steps you've already taken, then you are sure to stumble and fall. It's still ok if we remember the past, just don't let yourself become controlled by it. And I won't, because now I have you and that will be my future from now on_. Now and forever as your best friend."_

_Then, childishly patting me on the head and ruffling my hair affectionately he joked, "Hey, _ do you remember that place we found when we were kids? You know, that place that used to be full of crystals that glowed in the dark and made the water look like the night sky? Heh, I still remember how the first thing you said to me when we found it was that you thought that this was where wishing stars were born. It was so cute."_

_More seriously though, he looked deeply into my eyes and said, "But you know what? I think you may have been onto something. That's probably why after you went back home, I made a wish on them. I made a wish that someday, I would be the one who saves you. You've always been so strong so I never thought I could do anything for you. Someday though, I'll be the one who will light your way in the darkness the same way you always have guided me, _. That's my dream. That's my wish-upon-a-star..."_

* * *

After managing to finish his lunch without hurling, Yuri and Wolfram both went out in the garden to help him try to mentally prepare himself for being strapped to that spinning-chair-of-doom again and being bombarded with more pointless questions he didn't have the answers to yet. Yuri thought he already made it clear as far as Sara was concerned he tried to save Yuri when that arrow was released and the only reason Yuri went to Small Shimaron was because he made a promise to, it wasn't like he was hiding it from them. As for me, all they really knew at this point was that that even though all of my memories were still missing and I didn't know who I was or how I came to possess the Keyblade, I still knew enough about the Heartless to be able to fight them. And that supposedly I came from another world that was destroyed by the very same creatures that were now invading theirs.

"Ah, another meeting..." Yuri sighed sadly, wishing it was already over.

"Yeah. If only I could be there to protect you Yuri-!" Wolfram began when the two of them stopped when they ran into one of the Ten Nobles.

Stepping forward Yuri asked unsurely, "Um, Radford wasn't it?" .

"Has your condition improved?" Lord Radford asked politely in response.

"Yeah. I'm fine now." Yuri answered with his usual nervous smile.

While they were talking, the three of them suddenly looked over to see Lord Karbelnikoff and Lady Anissina-who as it turned out was his sister-fighting over the life of his pet chicken that she intended to serve to Yuri and was chasing with a flamethrower. Yes, apparently in this castle, things like that happened a lot so I was in for quite the surprise once I woke up.

"They haven't changed since they were children," Lord Radford chuckled, watching the two of them go at it.

Upon hearing that, Yuri turned and asked, "So they've always been like that?"

Radford nodded, "Yes whether they were getting along or not, they played in this garden..."

Then Radford and Wolfram started talking about how they used to play a game called _"Hiding the Great One"_ during their childhood and Yuri tried to figure out what that game might be like but couldn't really understand what they were talking about. So, still wanting to understand it he suddenly said, "Uh, you guys go ahead without me. I'll be there in a minute..." and then Yuri dashed off to go find Conrad thinking that maybe he could explain it, since Conrad was really good at that sort of thing while Wolfram usually either over complicated it or accused him of being ignorant.

* * *

"So why did you bring it up?" Conrad asked after he finished briefly explaining what Hiding the Great One was. Wondering why Yuri seemed so interested in something like that all of a sudden.

"It was something the Great One said..." Yuri explained meekly, averting his gazed as he quoted, "_'The Ten Nobles exist to support you.'_"

"That's true," Conrad nodded with a warm smile.

"Am I really good enough though? To them I'm just a totally clueless newcomer. And I haven't spent much time with them." Yuri said softly, looking so unsure of himself.

"As long as you understand each other, time doesn't matter." Conrad smiled warmly as usual, "Aren't Trinity and I both proof of that, Yuri...?"

* * *

Feeling confident in himself now thanks to Conrad's advice, Yuri went to the Council room with his head held high and called for their attention by waving them over to face him. And when he did they all stared blankly at him. Startled by his sudden change of attitude towards the continuation of their meeting, which only moments before he was dreading.

"Your Majesty? What in the world...? Gunter gaped when Yuri smiled and continued-

"I'd like us all to play Hide the Great One!" Yuri announced with a wide grin and continued, "You all don't know me very well yet, right? And no one wants to support someone they don't know."

"Not at all! For His Majesty's sake I would bear all hardship..." Lord Spitzbeg proclaimed as he began rubbing his hands together like some sort of evil-villain-wanna-be.

"No." Yuri said firmly, looking them all straight in the eye.

Taken aback by his response Spitzbeg blinked, "Oh?"

"I don't want you to. That's why I want to play this game. If we can all have fun together, I have a feeling time will fly." Yuri said, "And we'll be able to understand things we couldn't before because we didn't know anything about each other. I want us all to share something besides just this, I want us to become closer so that when something like this happens again there won't be any more misunderstandings. You'll know more about me, and I'll know more about you and that I think will bring us all closer...right?"

After a few more words were passed among themselves regarding their reasons for wanting or not wanting to play, in the end they all agreed to go ahead and play the game while still very curious about what was going through their young King's mind. As they gathered outside in the courtyard, Gunter calmly explained the rest of the rules and told Yuri he had to sing the National hymn of the Great One before he kicked the head, proceeding to start the hymn in his most dramatic voice as an example until Yuri cut him off. And with that, the game started in full swing. A game that Yuri sincerely hoped would bring them all closer together...

* * *

Out in the garden in the courtyard where everyone was playing the game Waltorana reminisced about the past and remembered Julia-who unbeknownst to them was in fact one of Yuri's past lives-and how simple and heartfelt her actions always were just like Yuri's were right now. She had told him once a long ago that having fun together would help them get along and it was the best way to really understand one another without worrying about their affiliations or duties and just being normal people getting to know each other and that words alone could only go so far to reach the true heart of what people really wanted to do that was often left unsaid...

He then noticed a familiar sparkle from a nearby bush, the one Julia once favored every time they ever played this game. So skillfully keeping out of Stoffel's sight-since he was it-Waltorana snuck over to the bush while he was distracted looking for the others and knelt down out of sight next to Yuri, who was wearing her pendant.

At first he thought that it was a trick of the light or seeing it was only a figment of his memory but now Waltorana knew that the glimmer of light he noticed before had come from the necklace that Conrad must have given to Yuri some time ago. And when Waltorana commented on it, Yuri told him it was a good luck charm and grinned as he pointed out how great this spot was.

"You can see everyone from here," Yuri said as he described how everyone was playing the game differently. Like how some people were more being more relaxed about it while others were taking it very seriously or using their heads to come up with a plan together on how to win the game. And as he listened to him explain all this Waltorana started to realize exactly what Yuri was trying to do all along. Yuri could understand more about each person's personality just by watching how they played the game because it showed him their true feeling, and not just their stiff view on politics.

And then suddenly when Yuri saw Lord Spitzbeg step away from the head, he exclaimed to Waltorana in a hushed tone, "Hey! Stoffel walked away from it!" Yuri grinned with excitement, "Let's go, Waltorana!"

The moment Yuri ran forward, Waltorana gasped when he saw a vision of Julia overlapping Yuri and remembered that this was exactly what she would have done too even though she was blind and couldn't actually see where the skull was. He also recalled what Conrad was saying to Julia's younger brother in the garden earlier about how despite their social standing, both Julia and Yuri would take what was right in front of them-the raw truth that people would often hide, sometimes unknowingly-and make a decision based on the truth in plain sight. A truth that wouldn't change, even if no one else could see it...

Or in my case, remember it.

"He's like her. Isn't he?" Waltorana said to himself, watching Yuri make his way towards the head.

But Waltorana was soon called back to the present when Yuri put his foot on the head and inhaled, getting ready to sing when he yelped, "Ah! I don't remember the song!"

Seeing that his King needed him, Waltorana put aside his own thoughts about the past and strode over to Yuri, placing his foot on the head too and started to sing:

_We who pledge in the name of the Great One_

_Gather where He makes His hideout_

_If we were to be named, we would be called the "heart"_

_Upon our word we swear_

_To uphold the Great-_

However, Waltorana stopped mid-verse and with a knowing smile, he changed the verse and sang instead:

_To uphold the Demon King_

_By upholding the Demon King, we are his heart_

And even more surprising, after that, everyone joined in and stepped out from their hiding places. At least, those who had been playing the game. But everyone else in the entire castle started to sing too, uniting together with one voice and one heart as they continued:

_Always beside us, there is the Demon King_

_Where there is hope, there is the Demon King_

_Where there is pride, there is the Demon King_

_Where there is love, there is the Demon King_

_Where there is fidelity, there is the Demon King_

_Where there are vows, there is the Demon King_

_Ah~! We who uphold the Demon King!_

Meanwhile, Stoffel was grumbling as he was crawling towards them and proclaimed in Waltorana's direction, "You're the only one who won't kick that head, if it's the last thing I do!'"

Yuri and Waltorana both glanced down at him but with a mischievous grin, Waltorana yelled, "Oh, Demon King, our Demon King! Et cetera et cetera!" Then, stepping down and abruptly kicking the head, he ended the game with, "I have spotted Your departed soul!"


	8. A Forgotten Promise

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything from Kyo Kara Maoh, Disney, Final Fantasy, or Kingdom Hearts; this is purely fan-made.

~Chapter 8: A Forgotten Promise~

_There is always sleep between part and meet_

_With our usual words on the usual street_

_So let us part like we always do..._

_And in a world without you_

_I'll dream of you._

_When I come to, let us meet_

_With our usual words on the usual street._

_~Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories_

* * *

"Yeah! We won! Thanks Waltorana!" Yuri beamed excitedly, even though moments ago he had been freaking out about not knowing the song.

Smiling rather widely himself Waltorana replied with a shrug, "I simply supported my King in his time of need, nothing more."

"But still-" Yuri said, turning to face him and glancing at everyone else and smiling warmly, "-the way you guys all came together like that, it was really amazing! Together, I'm sure we can accomplish anything. So from now on I'll work even harder to bring us all closer together and make this the best country it can be!"

Everyone seemed quite pleased to hear that but Stoffel on the other hand was still grumbling about the fact that Waltorana as just trying to show off by winning the game when he saw something-a strange shimmer-out of the corner of his eye and he turned around. "Hmm? What was that?"

Walking up to him, his servant Raven asked, "What is it my Lord?"

"I thought I saw something over there," Stoffel pointed in the direction of the hallway just behind the bush where Yuri had been hiding during the game.

With a sigh, Raven replied, "Sir, it was probably just-" he stopped though when I turned the corner and they saw me for the very first time.

For a moment, everyone was stunned by my unexpected appearance; especially since up until then they had only heard about me and hadn't seen for themselves that I was indeed a Double-Black. But right away Waltorana knew something was off as I approached them. With every step I took towards them my image wavered and my eyes...though they were usually dark anyway looked lightless, unfocused, and empty.

"Trinity?" Yuri asked unsurely, trying to come towards me when Waltorana stopped him.

Hearing his voice, I slowly made my way towards Yuri and the others who stood gathered around him in a protective circle. And once I was close enough, I stopped and looked at Yuri in confusion, asking him unsurely, "_Who are you...?_"

Because in my eyes, it wasn't Yuri who was standing in front of me but someone else from the distant past. The same boy Waltorana had seen a glimpse of before during the game, smiling sadly at him.

Looking troubled he blurted out, "What do you mean? Trinity, it's me Yuri! Don't you recognize me?"

"_I've been dreaming about you,_" I told him softly, still looking bewildered as I stared at Yuri with glazed eyes, "_About a promise we made as the world around us fell away and I was pulled into the darkness along with it. As our hands slipped apart, you told me that no matter how long it took, or how far apart we became, you would find me once I returned home to the Realm of Light..._" lifting my hand and staring at it, I continued sadly, "_...but there's hardly anything left of '_me'_ now. Already, I'm becoming someone else just like you did, and I can't seem to hold onto any of the pieces of my _'self'_ anymore without feeling an unbearable pain in my heart. What happened to me? How could I have lost sight of the Light within the Darkness? Each time I grab onto another piece of my memory this pain takes a hold until the only thing that can save me from giving into that pain and drowning in the darkness of my doubt is the light of our promise, a promise to meet-_"

"_-even if we forget each other,_" Yuri answered unconsciously as he stepped forward and another voice overlapped his. "_Because we'll always be best friends, and no matter how much we change on the outside, our hearts will find a way back to each other through the Light of the friendship we both share._"

"Your Highness?" Stoffel blinked, "What in the world are you talking about? Didn't you tell us you've only just met her?"

Startled, Yuri turned around to face him and blinked, "Huh? What? Sorry I...I don't know where that came from-" folding his hands over his heart, Yuri said, "But suddenly I felt something warm in here in my chest and those words just sort of came out on their own. What is this feeling...?"

* * *

Meanwhile, back in Big Shimaron, Janis-who had been researching the relation between the Heartless and my Keyblade-discovered that someone wearing a similar coat to the one they had last seen me wearing who had been sighted in their area. And so, thinking that it might be me or at least someone I was associated with, Janis ordered his men to accompany him in search and try to capture them. Although this was no easy task when the Heartless kept attacking them relentlessly throughout the course of their search.

"These creatures appear to be growing greatly in numbers," Janis commented grimly to himself as they finished off the last of the Heartless that tried to attack them along the road.

"Lord Janis," one of his men called as he rode over with a message he had just received from one of their scouts stationed a little further ahead of them, "I have received some more information about our target Sir."

Janis turned and nodded, "Very well, continue your report."

Unfolding the tiny piece of paper in his hands, the White Crow read it over and informed him, "After pursuing the target to an isolated location, the scout told me to inform you that the one we've been chasing is actually a male and not the young woman we were ordered to capture by Lady Alazon. However, after calling for back up to capture him for questioning the target escaped through some kind of dark portal and they were attacked by the Heartless soon after and forced to retreat."

Considering the report carefully, Janis said, "Very well. Tell them to return home for now and leave the search for another day. After all, the girl we're after was last seen on the ship that the Demon King used to escape Ranjeel's forces, so it is unlikely that she has left the Great Demon Kingdom so this search was only conducted on the small chance that perhaps she had left their care and returned here. Even so, if there was even the slightest chance that she was here we were ordered to apprehend her at any cost. Therefore we will continue to watch the Great Demon Kingdom for a time and look for our chance to capture her, and if none arises then we'll need to find someone else who can potentially wield the Divine Sword for us in the meantime."

"And what of the figure in the black coat we were pursuing up until now? What should we do about him?" one of the other members asked curiously.

"Unless he proves to be a hindrance or in league with the Heartless then I say we leave him be. We should not waste any more time chasing after someone we know cannot help us revive the Divine Sword through his dark powers," Janis replied. "It's the girl we need more information on since we don't even know what she looks like or what her name is yet. We'll need that information if we are going to choose her as our savior and wielder of the Divine Sword, since her power is more likely attuned with the magic that remains dormant within the sword until its proper master has been found."

* * *

Jerking back to reality all of a sudden, I clutched the side of my head and looked around in utter confusion when I had no idea where I was or how I ended up there. The last thing I remembered we were on a ship heading for Yuri's country when Big Shimaron and the Heartless attacked. And then I used some kind of magic to save him from a falling mast. After that though it was all a big blank. So why was I standing in the middle of a courtyard with all these strangers staring at me like they'd seen a ghost...?

"Where am I?" I blinked, clutching my head with both hands as it throbbed painfully. "What's going on?"

I was still kind of out of it when Yuri ran over to me and cried, "Trinity! Are you alright?"

Still feeling very confused, I replied, "I guess so, but uh-" glancing around at our surroundings I asked him, "-Yuri, where exactly are we? How did I get here?"

Now it was his turn to be confused. "What? You mean you don't remember what happened just now?"

I shook my head, "No. Why? What happened? Was I sleepwalking or something? I guess that would explain why I have no idea how I got out here and why we're not on the ship anymore."

"Your Majesty," Waltorana began lightly, stepping towards us and looking at me with a thoughtful expression. "While this strange turn of events was unexpected I believe we have seen for ourselves that what you were telling us about her was in fact true, that she is suffering from some kind of severe memory loss," bowing slightly, he added humbly, "Therefore I would like to apologize for my rude behavior regarding her condition before. I had no idea it was this serious."

"Well to be honest we didn't know it was either," Yuri admitted as he watched Gunter walk over to where I was and took me by the shoulders when I started to sway dizzily. "I mean we saw her collapse once before too when we were leaving Sara's castle and again after she used that awesome time-stopping spell. But I never realized that she's been in so much pain and having all these nightmares. You guys saw it too right? That was the real her we saw just now and if we can help Trinity remember who that is then we'll be able to get closer to solving the mystery behind where she came from and what brought those creatures here after her. Because I think it's pretty obvious now that we must have really known each other in some other lifetime. Otherwise I don't know why I would act like that. So, if you guys don't mind, I could really use your help with that."

"Our help? But what can we do?" Radford inquired.

Smiling knowingly, Yuri explained, "Just tell us if you spot this other guy wearing the same black coat she is because when we met him he seemed to know a lot more about her than we do. And it's not only with her lost memories. He knows about the Heartless too and what they're really after. So if you could just give us a shout if you spot anyone like that we'll take care of the rest from there."

Still not entirely convinced, Stoffel for one shrugged his shoulders and relented, "I suppose that's not _too_ much to ask..."

"Very well Your Highness, we will do as you ask and report back should we discover anything useful so that you can assist your friend here," one of the nobles nodded, giving me a warm smile.

Several others followed the suite and offered to help as well. I don't know what made them change their minds about helping me so easily but I was glad nevertheless. Still, I wondered what they were talking about. The real me? I suppose I could have asked Yuri more about it then but my head was killing me and I didn't want to think about anything else.

It was still really weird that I couldn't remember leaving my room and how I felt as if I had just woken up from a dream. But dreams are said to touch the true memories buried deep in our hearts that we sometimes cannot reach by ourselves. So something must have definitely happened that triggered some deeper part of me to awaken while I was immersed in that strange dream...

* * *

Later that night after dinner, I was lying in bed again while being given another examination by Geisila to try and figure out what caused my trance-like state and why I unconsciously sought out Yuri while I was in that state. And after hearing about the game they were playing before I showed up I told them that I kind of wished I could have played too, since it actually sounded like a lot of fun. But, more importantly, I wanted to tell them all about what I actually _did_ manage to remember after using Stopza to save Yuri that time on the ship.

"I still don't know who taught me about it exactly but now I remember that I can use magic! Only, it's not the same as the magic in this world," I explained enthusiastically. "Where I come from there are different variations of the same spell where each one is more powerful than the last. Like the spell I used was the highest level of the spell _'stop,'_ which allows me to temporarily freeze time around objects or my enemies. There's the lowest level that's just _'stop'_ then it goes_ 'stopra,' 'stopga,' 'stopja,' 'stopda,'_ and finally _'stopza,'_ which is the highest level I can use for that spell and lasts the longest. So I think what happened on the ship was that I used too powerful of a spell and since I'm not used to using magic like that anymore it drained my energy too quickly and I passed out."

"That makes sense," Geisila agreed as she withdrew her hands from mine and turned to her father and the others, "All of her vital signs when you first brought her to me indicated that she fainted due to an extreme level of fatigue that's usually caused from overusing ones magical powers. Although like she said, I could tell right away that her magic isn't like ours so I can't say for sure why the strain on her body was so intense. It could just be that this _'Realm of Darkness' _that Trinity told us about appears to share some similar attributes that resemble the miasma or Esoteric powers as far as how it affects someone physically and mentally. And it could be that her body is still recovering from those effects even though that coat of her seems to be enchanted to ward off those effects. So up until she got that coat, the power of darkness that permeate that world must have slowly been eating away at her, weakening her magical powers. That's only a guess though."

"So what about what happened earlier?" Gunter asked, "Why was Trinity acting so differently around His Highness? It was like she was seeing someone else and talking to them, which also somehow affected him as well. Can you explain that?"

Shifting uncomfortably when they all looked down and started staring at me-some of them almost accusingly-I sighed, "Look, I'm telling you, I don't remember saying anything like that to Yuri. The last thing I remember I was passing out on the ship and then dreaming about that mysterious castle I saw for a split second when we were leaving Small Shimaron." Closing my eyes, I envisioned it and tried to describe it to them. "It was pure white inside, like a blank canvas, with pillars lining the walls and roses decorating them and the pedestals near the entrance. At the end of the hall there was a golden door at the top of a small staircase. And when I passed through the door, there was a bright light and I...somehow found myself back in my world before my home was enveloped by darkness and destroyed. No matter how hard I try to remember anything else besides that night I can't remember because of the pain I feel that always brings me back to that one moment. It just keeps repeating over and over again in my head like it's trying to tell me something I'm missing. And there's always someone there with me but I can't see his face or remember his name. But I know he's someone very important to me, someone I cherish, and yet I can't even..."

My voice trailed off as I tried to hold back my tears. I was so frustrated that there was nothing I could do to make myself remember who that boy was, someone who I clearly had strong feelings for as a precious precious friend. He was so important to me, but yet I forgot all about him. And forgetting him more than anything else made my chest hurt and my heart ache with a terrible sadness and loneliness, not to mention guilt.

Placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder, Geisila smiled as she stood up and assured me, "Don't worry about it too much. These things take time. Just try to do what you can and remember things a little at a time and don't strain yourself, alright? Relish the small victories, like how you remembered how to use your magic. Don't worry about trying to remember everything all at once and start keeping a journal to keep track of the things you do remember, which might help you remember a little bit more each time."

With another sigh I smiled unsurely and relented, "Ok..."

"So now what?" Conrad asked me curiously, "What would you like to do in the meantime until you can remember the rest of your past?"

Thinking about for a while, I stood up and said, "Well, if it's alright with you I would like to learn more about this world so that when I set out on my own I can deal with whatever opposition comes my way. Maybe I could also do some kind of training to build up my strength before I try using magic again. But more importantly, while I'm here I want to help you guys get rid of the Heartless and stop whoever is controlling them."

With a big smile, Gunter clasped his hands together and said gleefully, "If that's how you feel then I would be overjoyed if you joined His Highness in his studies with me Trinity! I can teach you all sorts of wonderful facts about our great nation and the ways of the world. Perhaps your presence might even motivate him to study that much harder to help you adjust to our way of life."

Laughing nervously, Yuri mumbled, "Great...more school work."

Chuckling, I smiled at him with a wink and argued playfully, "Oh come on Yuri, it'll be fun! I mean how often do you get to teach someone from another world about your culture?" looking outside the window behind him at the stars, my gaze softened as I whispered sentimentally, "So many worlds out there, each of them shining like a distant star. So close. And yet they're out of reach, even though they're all connected by one endless sky."

"It's been a long day," Conrad said abruptly when he noticed that I was starting to doze off. "We should all go to bed and get some rest."

With a nod, Geisila agreed but also added, "Just in case though, I'll ask the guards to keep an eye on her room so she doesn't wander off again sometime during the night. Although this is mostly for her safety."

Usually, I would have protested against being babysat but I was too tired to and actually agreed with her on this one. I didn't want to end up somewhere I shouldn't or get attacked by the Heartless if and when they showed up in the castle. So I told them that was fine and settled back into bed as everyone started to leave.

But before Conrad left, he glanced over at me and called, "Hey Trinity?"

"Hmm?" I mumbled sleepily, turning over to face him. "What is it?"

"His Highness and I usually go for a jog early in the morning and he wanted me to ask if you would like to go with us, of course only if you think you'll feel up to it tomorrow. And if you're interesting in doing some training I'm currently helping Yuri work on his swordsmanship as well. His sword lessons won't start until later in the afternoon though so you are more than welcome to join us then if you need more rest," he offered kindly.

Touched by his offer, I smiled, "I'd love to go jogging with you two. Thank you, Conrad."

"You're welcome. I'll see you in the morning then," Conrad replied, closing the door behind him and wishing me goodnight.

As I closed my eyes, I decided to think of tomorrow was the beginning of a new day and a fresh start for me. As well as my chance to build a lasting friendship with everyone, including Wolfram and his older brother Gwendal who both still seemed unsure about me. That's what I wanted, to make new friends while I was here and do my best to reclaim the memories of the other important people in my life. Because they had to be out there somewhere, waiting for me, and I wanted to be able to share my experiences with them. And build a foundation that would make me strong enough to endure the trials I knew still lay ahead of us.


End file.
